^ 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


ENDOWED  BY  THE 

DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 

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1854 


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•i  y' 


HISTORY 


Ax 


NERO.. 


HY    JACOB    ABBOTT 

Library,  Univ.  of 
North  Carolina 

r 

^ NEW    YORK: 

HARPER  i  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS. 
1854. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  liundred  and    fifty-three,  by 

Harper  &  Brothers, 

f 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York. 


PREFACE 


In  writing  the  series  of  historical  narratives  to 
which  the  present  work  pertains,  it  has  been  the 
object  of  the  author  to  furnish  to  the  reading  com- 
munity of  this  country  an  accurate  and  faithful 
account  of  the  lives  and  actions  of  the  several  per- 
sonages that  are  made  successively  the  subjects  of 
the  volumes,  following  precisely  the  story  which  has 
come  down  to  us  from  ancient  times.  The  writer 
has  spared  no  pains  to  gain  access  in, all  cases  to  the 
original  sources  of  information,  and  has  confined 
himself  strictly  to  them.  The  reader  may,  therefore, 
feel  assured  in  perusing  any  one  of  these  works,  that 
the  interest  of  it  is  in  no  degi-ee  indebted  to  the  inven- 
tion of  the  author.  No  incident,  however  trivial,  is 
ever  added  to  the  original  account,  nor  are  any  words 
even,  in  any  case,  attributed  to  a  speaker  without 
express  authority.  Whatever  of  interest,  therefore, 
these  stories  may  possess,  is  due  solely  to  the  facts 
themselves  which  are  recorded  in  them,  and  to  their 
being  brought  together  in  a  plain,  simple,  and  con- 
nected narrative. 


/ 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  rA«.K 

I.    NERO's    MOTHER 13 

IL   THE    ASSASSINATION   OF    CALIGULA 34 

III.  THE   ACCESSION   OF    CLAUDIUS 55 

IV.  THE    FATE   OF   MESSALINA '77 

V.   THE   CHILDHOOD    OF   NERO 105 

VI.   NERO    AN    EMPEROR 1 24 

VII.  BRITANNICUS 148 

VIII.  THE    FATE    OP   AGRIPPINA 172 

IX.    EXTREME    DEPRAVITY 208 

X.    PISO'S    CONSPIRACY 228 

XI.   THE    FATE   OF   THE    CONSPIRATORS 250 

XII.    THE    EXPEDITION   INTO    GRBEOE 272 

XIII.   NERO's    END 299 


ENGRAVINGS. 


PACK 

MAP — ENVIRONS  OF  ROME Frontispiece. 

ENCAMPMENT    OF    A    ROMAN    LEGION 21 

C^SONIA 53 

DISCOVERY    OF    CLAUDIUS 64 

MKSSALINA   IN    THE    GARDEN 89 

THE   POISONING    OF    CLAUDIUS  .• 132 

THE   JEWELRY 156 

THE   ATTEMPT    OF  ANICKTU.S 197 

BURNING    OF    ROME 225 

THE    KNIFE 244 

BRINGING    EPICHARIS    TO    THK    TORTUUK 253 

PHAON    AT    THE    WALL 316 


NERO. 


Chapter    I. 
Neeo's   Mother. 


Roman  country  seats. 


IjN^  ancient  times,  when  the  city  of  Rome 
was  at  the  height  of  its  power  and  splen- 
dor, it  was  the  custom,  as  it  is  in  fact  now 
with  the  inhabitants  of  wealthy  capitals,  for 
the  principal  families  to  possess,  in  addition 
to  their  city  residences,  rural  villas  for  sum- 
mer retreats,  which  they  built  in  picturesque 
situations,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  city, 
sometimes  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  and 
sometimes  upon  the  sea-shore.  There  were 
many  attractive  places  of  resort  of  this  nature 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Rome.  Among  them 
was  Antium. 

Antium  was  situated  on  the  sea-coast  about 
thirty  miles  south  of  the  Tiber.  A  bold  prom- 
ontory here  projects  into  the  sea,  affording 


14  Keko.  [A.D.  37. 

Situation  of  the  promontory  of  Antium, 

from  its  declivities  the  most  extended  and 
magnificent  views  on  every  side.  On  the 
north,  looking  from  the  promontory  of  Antium, 
the  eye  follows  the  line  of  the  coast  away  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Tiber ;  while,  on  the  south, 
the  view  is  terminated,  at  about  the  same  dis- 
tance, by  the  promontory  of  Circe,  which  is 
the  second  cape,  or  promontory,  that  marks 
the  shore  of  Italy  in  going  southward  from 
Kome.  Toward  the  interior,  from  Antium, 
there  extends  a  broad  and  beautiful  plain, 
bounded  by  wooded  hills  toward  the  shore, 
and  by  ranges  of  mountains  in  the  distance 
beyond.  On  the  southern  side  of  the  cape, 
and  sheltered  by  it,  was  a  small  harbor  where 
vessels  from  all  the  neighboring  seas  had  been 
accustomed  to  bring  in  their  cargoes,  or  to 
seek  shelter  in  storms,  from  time  immemorial. 
In  fact,  Antiimi,  in  point  of  antiquity,  takes 
precedence,  probably,  even  of  Rome. 

The  beauty  and  the  salubrity  of  Antium 
made  it  a  very  attractive  place  of  summer 
resort  for  the  people  of  Rome  ;  and  in  process 
of  time,  when  the  city  attained  to  an  advanced 
stage  of  opulence  and  luxury,  the  Roman 
noblemen  built  villas  there,  choosing  situa- 
tions, in  some  instances,  upon  the  natui-al  ter- 


A.D,  37.1         Neko's   Motreb.                 15 
-* « 

Account  of  Nero's  parentage.  Brazenbeard. 

races  and  esplanades  of  the  promontory, 
wliich  looked  off  over  the  sea,  and  in  others 
cool  and  secluded  retreats  in  the  valleys,  on 
the  land.  It  was  in  one  of  these  villas  that 
Nero  was  born. 

Nero's  father  belonged  to  a  family  which 
had  enjoyed  for  several  generations  a  consid- 
erable degree  of  distinction  among  the  Roman 
nobility,  though  known  by  a  somewhat  whim- 
sical name.  The  family  name  was  Brazen- 
beard,  or,  to  speak  more  exactly,  it  was  Ahe- 
nobarbus,  which  is  the  Latin  equivalent  for 
that  word.  It  is  a  question  somewhat  difficult 
,to  decide,  whether  in  speaking  of  Nero's  fa- 
ther at  the  present  time,  and  in  the  English 
tongue,  we  should  make  use  of  the  actual  Lat- 
in name,  or  translate  the  word  and  employ  the 
English  representative  of  it ;  that  is,  whether 
we  shall  call  him  Ahenobarbus  or  Brazen- 
beard.  The  former  seems  to  be  more  in  har- 
mony with  our  ideas  of  the  dignity  of  Roman 
history ;  while  the  latter,  though  less  elegant, 
conveys  probably  to  our  minds  a  more  exact 
idea  of  the  import  and  expression  of  the  name 
as  it  sounded  in  the  ears  of  the  Roman  com- 
munity. The  name  certainly  was  not  an  at- 
tractive one,  though  the  family  had  contriv- 


16  Nero.  [A.D.  37. 

Nero's  father.  Agrippina  his  mother. 

ed  to  dignify  it  some  degree  by  assigning  to 
it  a  preternatm*al  origin.  There  was  a  tradi- 
tion that  in  ancient  times  a  prophet  appeared 
to  one  of  the  ancestors  of  the  line,  and  after 
foretelling  certain  extraordinary  events  which 
were  to  occur  at  some  future  period,  strok- 
ed down  the  beard  of  his  auditor  with  his 
hand,  and  changed  it  to  the  color  of  brass, 
in  miraculous  attestation  of  the  divine  author- 
ity of  the  message.  The  man  received  the 
name  of  Brazenbeard  in  consequence,  and  he 
and  his  descendants  ever  afterward  retained 
it. 

The  family  of  the  Brazenbeards  was  one  of 
high  rank  and  distinction,  though  at  the  time 
of  ISTero's  birth  it  was,  like  most  of  the  other 
prominent  Boman  families,  extremely  profli- 
gate and  corrupt.  Nero's  father,  especially, 
was  a  very  bad  man.  He  was  accused  of  the 
very  worst  of  crimes,  and  he  led  a  life  of  con- 
stant remorse  and  terror.  His  wife,  Agrip- 
pina, ISTero's  mother,  was  as  wicked  as  he  ; 
and  it  is  said  that  when  the  messenger  came 
to  him  to  announce  the  birth  of  his  child,  the 
hero  of  this  narrative,  he  uttered  some  excla- 
mation of  ill-humor  and  contempt,  and  said 
that  whatever   came   from   him  and  Agrip 


A.D.  37.]       ISTero's  Mother.  17 

Agrippina's  brother  Caligula.  Roman  emperors. 

pina  could  not  but  be  fraught  with  ruin  to 
Home. 

The  rank  and  station  of  Agrippina  in  Ro- 
man society  was  even  higher  than  that  of  her 
husband.  She  was  the  sister  of  the  emperor. 
The  name  of  the  emperor,  her  brother,  was 
Caligula.  He  was  the  third  in  the  series  of 
Roman  emperors,  Augustus  Caesar,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Julius  Csesar,  having  been  the  first. 
The  term  emperor,  however,  had  a  very  dif- 
ferent meaning  in  those  days,  from  its  present 
import.  It  seems  to  denote  now  a  sovereign 
ruler,  who  exercises  officially  a  general  juris- 
diction which  extends  over  the  whole  govern- 
ment of  the  state.  In  the  days  of  the  Ro- 
mans it  included,  in  theory  at  least,  only 
military  command.  The  word  was  imperator^ 
which  meant  oormnander  ',  and  the  station 
which  it  denoted  was  simply  that  of  general- 
in-chief  over  the  military  forces  of  the  re- 
public. 

In  the  early  periods  of  the  Roman  history, 
every  possible  precaution  was  taken  to  keep 
the  military  power  in  a  condition  of  very  strict 
subordination  to  the  authority  of  the  civil 
magistrate  and  of  law.  Yery  stringent  regu- 
lations were  adopted  to  secure  this  end.  No 
B 


18  ITero.  [A.D.  37. 

Regulations  in  respect  to  the  Roman  armies. 

portion  of  the  array,  except  such  small  de- 
tachments as  were  required  for  preserving 
order  within  the  walls,  was  allowed  to  ap- 
proach the  city.  Great  commanders,  in  re- 
turning from  their  victorious  campaigns,  were 
obliged  to  halt  and  encamp  at  some  distance 
from  the  gates,  and  there  await  the  orders  of 
the  Roman  Senate.  The  Senate  was,  in  the- 
ory, the  great  repository  of  political  power. 
This  Senate  was  not,  however,  as  the  word 
might  seem  in  modern  times  to  denote,  a  well- 
defined  and  comjiact  body  of  legislators,  des- 
ignated individually  to  the  ofiice,  but  rather  a 
class  of  hereditary  nobles,  very  numerous,  and 
deriving  their  power  from  immemorial  usage, 
and  from  that  strange  and  unaccountable 
feeling  of  deference  and  awe  with  which  the 
mass  of  mankind  always  look  up  to  an  estab- 
lished, and  especially  an  ancient,  aristocracy. 
The  Senate  were  accustomed  to  convene  at 
stated  times,  in  assemblages  which  were, 
sometimes,  conducted  with  a  proper  degree 
of  formality  and  order,  and  sometimes  on  the 
other  hand,  exhibited  scenes  of  great  tumult 
and  confusion.  Their  power,  however,  whether 
regularly  or  irregularly  exercised,  was  su- 
preme.  They  issued  edicts,  they  enacted  laws, 


A.D.  37.]       Nero's  Mother.  19 


Description  of  the  Roman  armies. 


they  alloted  provinces,  they  made  peace,  and 
they  declared  war.  The  armies,  and  the  gen- 
erals who  commanded  them,  were  the  agents 
employed  to  do  their  bidding. 

The  Roman  armies  consisted  of  vast  bodies 
of  men  which,  when  not  in  actual  service, 
were  established  in  permanent  encampments 
in  various  parts  of  the  empire,  wherever  it 
was  deemed  necessary  that  troops  should  be 
stationed.  These  great  bodies  of  troops  were 
the  celebrated  Roman  legions,  and  they  were 
renowned  throughout  the  world  for  their  dis- 
cipline, their  admirable  organization,  the 
celerity  of  their  movements,  and  for  the  in- 
domitable courage  and  energy  of  the  men. 
Each  legion  constituted,  in  fact,  a  separate 
and  independent  community.  Its  camp  was 
its  city.  Its  general  was  its  king.  In  time 
of  war  it  moved,  of  course,  from  place  to 
place,  as  the  exigencies  of  the  service  re- 
quired ;  but  in  time  of  peace  it  established 
itself  with  great  formality  in  a  spacious  and 
permanent  encampment,  which  was  laid  out 
with  great  regularity,  and  fortified  with  ram- 
parts and  fosses.  Within  the  confines  of  the 
camp  the  tents  were  arranged  in  rows,  with 
broad  spaces  for  streets  between  them ;  and 


20  Nero.  [A.D.  37. 

Encampments  of  the  legions.  Their  stations. 

in  a  central  position,  before  a  space  which 
served  the  purpose  of  a  piiblic  square,  the 
rich  and  ornamented  pavilions  of  the  com- 
mander and  chief,  and  of  the  other  generals, 
rose  above  the  rest,  like  the  public  edifices  of 
a  city.  The  encampment  of  a  Roman  legion' 
was,  in  fact,  an  extended  and  populous  city, 
only  that  the  dwellings  consisted  of  tents  in- 
stead of  being  formed  of  solid  and  permanent 
structures  of  wood  or  stone. 

Roman  legions  were  encamped  in  this  way 
in  various  places  throughout  the  empire, 
wherever  the  Senate  tliought  proper  to  station 
them.  There  were  some  in  Syria  and  the 
East ;  some  in  Italy  ;  some  on  the  banks  of 
the  Rhine  ;  and  it  was  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  vast  force  thus  organized, 
that  the  Romans  held  the  whole  European 
world  under  their  sway.  The  troops  were 
satisfied  to  yield  submission  to  the  orders  of 
their  commanders,  since  they  received  through 
them  in  return,  an  abundant  supply  of  food 
and  clothing,  and  lived,  ordinarily,  lives  of 
ease  and  indulgence.  In  consideration  of 
this,  they  were  willing  to  march  from  place 
to  place  wherever  they  were  ordered,  and  to 
fight  any  enemy  when  brought  into  the  field. 


A.D.  37.]       Keko's  Mother.  23 

Useful  functions  of  the  Roman  armies. 

The  commanders  obtained  food  and  clothing 
for  them  by  means  of  the  tribute  which  they 
exacted  from  conquered  provinces,  and  from 
the  plunder  of  sacked  cities,  in  times  of  actual 
war.  These  armies  were  naturally  interested 
in  preserving  order  and  maintaining  in  gen- 
eral the  authority  of  law,  throughout  the 
communities  which  they  controlled  ;  for  with- 
out law  and  order  the  industrial  pursuits  of 
men  could  not  go  on,  and  of  course  they  were 
well  aware  that  if  in  any  country  production 
were  to  cease,  tribute  must  soon  cease  too. 
In  reading  history  we  find,  indeed,  it  must  be 
confessed,  that  a  fearful  proportion  of  the 
narrative  which  describes  the  achievements 
of  ancient  armies,  is  occupied  with  detailing 
deeds  of  violence,  rapine,  and  crime  ;  but  we 
must  not  infer  from  this  that  the  influence  of 
these  vast  organizations  was  wholly  evil. 
Such  extended  and  heterogeneous  masses  of 
population  as  those  which  were  spread  over 
Europe  and  Asia,  in  the  days  of  the  Romans, 
could  be  kept  subject  to  the  necessary  re- 
straints of  social  order  only  by  some  very 
powerful  instrumentality.  The  legions  or- 
ganized by  the  Roman  Senate,  and  stationed 
here  and  there  throughout  the  extended  ter- 


24  '     Neko.  [A.D.  37. 

Effects  produced.  Mode  of  producing  them. 

ritory,  constituted  this  instrumentality.  But 
still,  during  far  the  greater  portion  of  the 
time  the  power  which  a  legion  wielded  was 
power  in  repose.  It  accomplished  its  end  by 
its  simple  presence,  and  by  the  sentiment  of 
awe  which  its  presence  inspired ;  and  the  na- 
tions and  tribes  within  the  circle  of  its  influ- 
ence lived  in  peace,  and  pursued  their  indus- 
trial occupations  without  molestation,  protect- 
ed by  the  consciousness  which  everywhere 
pervaded  the  minds  of  men,  that  the  Roman 
power  was  at  hand.  The  legion  hovered,  as 
it  were,  like  a  dark  cloud  in  their  horizon,  si- 
lent and  in  repose;  but  containing,  as  they 
well  knew,  the  latent  elements  of  thunder, 
which  might  at  any  time  burst  upon  their 
heads.  Thus,  in  its  ordinary  operation,  its 
influence  was  good.  Occasionally  and  inci- 
dentally periods  of  commotion  would  occur, 
when  its  action  was  violent,  cruel,  and  merci- 
lessly evil.  Unfortunately,  however,  for  the 
crecfit  of  the  system  in  the  opinion  of  man- 
kind in  subsequent  ages,  there  was  in  the 
good  which  it  efiected  nothing  to  narrate  ; 
while  every  deed  of  violence  and  crime  which 
was  perpetrated  by  its,  agency,  furnished  ma- 
terials for  an  entertaining  and  exciting  story. 


A.D.  37.]       Neko's  MoTHEs.  25 

Ancient  narratives.  The  civil  authorities. 

The  good  whicti  was  accomplished  extended 
perhaps  through  a  long,  but  monotonous  pe- 
riod of  quiescence  and  repose.  The  evil  was 
brief,  but  was  attended  with  a  rapid  succes- 
sion of  events,  and  varied  by  innumerable  in- 
cidents ;  so  that  the  historian  was  accustomed 
to  pass  lightly  over  th6  one,  with  a  few  indif- 
ferent words  of  cold  description,  while  he  em- 
ployed all  the  force  of  his  genius  in  amplify- 
ing and  adorning  the  narratives  which  com- 
memorated the  other.  Thus,  violent  and  op- 
pressive as  the  military  rulers  were,  by  whom 
in  ancient  times  the  world  was  governed,  they 
were  less  essentially  and  continuously  violent 
and  oppressive  than  the  general  tenor  of  his- 
tory makes  them  seem  ;  and  their  crimes  were, 
in  some  degree  at  least,  compensated  for  and 
redeemed,  by  the  really  useful  function  which 
they  generally  fulfilled,  of  restraining  and 
repressing  all  disorder  and  violence  except 
their  own. 

The  Roman  legions,  in  particular,  were  for 
many  centuries  kept  in  tolerable  subjection 
to  the  civil  authorities  of  the  capitol;  but 
they  were  growing  stronger  and  stronger  all 
the  time,  and  becoming,  more  and  more  con- 
scious of  their  strength.     Every  new  com- 


26  I^EEo.  [A.D.  37. 

The  progress  of  the  military  power. 

mander  who  acquired  renown  by  his  victories, 
added  greatly  to  the  importance  and  influ- 
ence of  the  army  in  its  political  relations. 
The  great  Julius  Caesar,  in  the  course  of  his 
foreign  conquests,  and  of  his  protracted  and 
terrible  wars  with  Pompey,  and  with  his 
other  rivals,  made  enormous  strides  in  this 
direction.  Every  time  that  he  returned  to 
Kome  at  the  head  of  his  victorious  legions, 
he  overawed  the  capitol  more  and  more.  Oc- 
tavius  Caesar,  the  successor  of  Julius,  known 
generally  in  history  by  the  name  of  Augustus, 
completed  what  his  uncle  had  begun.  He 
made  the  military  authority,  though  still 
nominally  and  in  form  subordinate,  in  reality 
paramount  and  supreme.  The  Senate,  indeed, 
continued  to  assemble,  and  to  exercise  its 
usual  functions.  Consuls  and  other  civil  mag- 
istrates were  chosen,  and  invested  with  the 
insignia  of  supreme  command ;  and  the  cus- 
tomary forms  and  usages  of  civil  administra- 
tion, in  which  the  subordination  of  the  mili- 
tary to  the  civil  power  was  fully  recognized, 
were  all  continued.  Still,  the  actual  author- 
ity of  the  civil  government  was  wholly  over- 
awed ^and   overpowered ;   and  the   haughty 


A.D.  87.]  I^ERO'S    MOTHETJ.  27 

Disposition  of  men  to  submit  to  eslablished  power. 

imperator  dictated  to  the  Senate,  and  directed 
the  administration,  just  as  he  pleased. 

It  required  great  genius  in  the  commanders 
to  bring  up  the  army  to  this  position  of  as- 
cendency and  power ;  but  once  up,  it  sus- 
tained itself  there,  without  the  necessity  of 
ability  of  any  kind,  or  of  any  lofty  qualities 
whatever,  in  those  subsequently  placed  at  the 
head.  In  fact,  the  reader  of  history  has  often 
occasion  to  be  perfectly  amazed  at  the  lengths 
to  which  human  endurance  will  go,  when  a 
governmental  power  of  any  kind  is  once  es- 
tablished, in  tolerating  imbecility  and  folly 
in  the  individual  representatives  of  it.  It 
seems  to  be  immaterial  whether  the  dominant 
power  assumes  the  form  of  a  dynasty  of  kings, 
a  class  of  hereditary  nobles,  or  a  line  of  mili- 
tary generals.  It  requires  genius  and  states- 
manship to  instate  it,  but,  once  instated,  no 
degree  of  stupidity,  folly  or  crime  in  those 
who  wield  it,  seems  sufficient  to  exhaust  the 
spirit  of  submission  with  which  man  always 
bows  to  established  power — a  spirit  of  submis- 
sion which  is  so  universal,  and  so  patient  and 
enduring,  and  which  so  transcends  all  the 
bounds  of  expediency  and  of  reason,  as  to 
seem  like  a  blind  instinct  implanted  in  the 


28  Neko.  [A.D.  37 

Great  capacity  of  the  early  emperora. 

verj  soul  of  man  hy  the  Author  of  his  being — 
a  constituent  and  essential  part  of  his  nature 
as  a  gregarious  animal.  In  fact,  without  some , 
such  instinct,  it  would  seem  impossible  that 
those  extended  communities  could  be  formed 
and  sustained,  without  which  man,  if  he  could 
exist  at  all,  could  certainly  never  fully  de- 
velop his  capacities  and  powers. 

However  this  may  be  in  theory,  it  is  cer- 
tain in  fact,  that  the  work  of  bringing  up  the 
military  power  of  ancient  Eome  to  its  condi- 
tion of  supremacy  over  all  the  civil  functions 
of  government,  was  the  work  of  men  of  the 
most  exalted  capacities  and  powers.  Marius 
and  Sylla,  Pompey  and  Caesar,  Antony  and 
Augustus,  evinced,  in  all  their  deeds,  a  high 
degree  of  sagacity,  energy,  and  greatness  of 
soul.  Mankind,  though  they  may  condemn 
their  vices  and  crimes,  will  never  cease  to 
admire  the  grandeur  of  their  ambition,  and 
the  magnificence,  comprehensiveness,  and  ef- 
ficiency of  their  plans  of  action.  The  whole 
ktiown  world  was  the  theater  of  their  con- 
fests,  and  the  armies  which  they  organized 
and  disciplined,  and  which  they  succeeded  at 
length  in  bringing  under  the  control  of  one 
central  and  consolidated   command,  formed 


A.D.  37.]       Neko's  Mothek.  29 

Roman  armies.  Character  of  Caligula. 

the  most  extended  and  imposing  military 
power  that  the  world  had  ever  seen.  It  was 
not  only  vast  in  extent,  but  permanent  and 
self-sustaining  in  character.  A  wide  and 
complicated,  but  most  effectual  system  was 
adopted  for  maintaining  it.  Its  discipline 
was  perfect.  Its  organization  was  complete. 
It  was  equally  trained  to  remain  quietly  at 
home  in  its  city-like  encampments,  in  time  of 
peace,  or  to  march,  or  bivouac,  or  fight,  in 
time  of  war.  Such  a  system  could  be  formed 
only  by  men  possessed  of  mental  powers  of 
the  highest  character ;  but,  once  formed,  it 
could  afterward  sustain  itself;  and  not  only 
so,  but  it  was  found  capable  of  holding  up, 
by  its  own  inherent  power,  the  most  imbecile 
and  incompetent  men,  as  the  nominal  rulers 
of  it. 

Caligula,  for  example,  the  brother  of  Agrip- 
pina,  and  the  reigning  emperor  at  the  time 
of  Nero's  birth,  was  a  man  wholly  unfit  to 
exercise  any  high  command.  He  was  ele- 
vated to  the  post  by  the  influence  of  the  army, 
simply  because  he  was  the  most  prominent 
man  among  those  who  had  hereditary  claims 
to  the  succession,  and  was  thus  the  man  whom 
the  army  could  most  easily  place  in  the  ofiice 


30  Nero.  [A.D.  37. 

His  desperate  malignity.  Examples  of  his  cruelty. 

of  chieftain,  and  retain  most  securely  there. 
His  life,  however,  in  the  lofty  station  to  which 
accident  thus  raised  him,  was  one  of  continual 
folly,  vice  and  crime.  He  lived  generally  at 
Rome,  where  he  expended  the  immense  reve- 
nues that  were  at  his  command  in  the  most 
wanton  and  senseless  extravagance.  In  the 
earlier  part  of  his  career  the  object  of  much 
of  his  extravagance  was  the  gratification  of 
the  people ;  but  after  a  time  he  began  to  seek 
only  gratifications  for  himself,  and  at  length 
he  evinced  the  most  wanton  spirit  of  malig- 
nity and  cruelty  toward  others.  He  seemed 
at  last  actually  to  hate  the  whole  human  spe- 
cies, and  to  take  pleasure  in  teasing  and  tor- 
menting men,  whenever  an  occasion  of  any 
kind  occurred  to  afford  him  the  opportunity. 
They  were  accustomed  in  those  days  to  have 
spectacles  and  shows  in  vast  amphitheaters 
which  were  covered,  when  the  sun  was  hot, 
with  awnings.  Sometimes  when  an  amphi- 
theater was  crowded  with  spectators,  and  the 
heat  of  the  sun  was  unusually  powerful,  Ca- 
ligula would  order  the  awnings  to  be  removed 
and  the  doors  to  be  kept  closed  so  as  to  pre- 
vent the  egress  of  the  people;  and  then  he 
would  amuse  himself  with  the  indications  of 


A.D.  37.]       Nebo's  MoTHEB.  31 

Feeding  wild  beasts  with  men.  Branding. 

discomfort  and  sufiering  which  so  crowded  a 
concourse  in  such  an  exposure  would  necessa- 
rily exhibit.  He  kept  wild  animals  for  the 
combats  which  took  place  in  these  amphithe- 
aters, and  when  it  was  difficult  to  procure  the 
flesh  of  sheep  and  oxen  for  them,  he  would 
feed  them  with  men,  throwing  into  their  dens 
for  this  purpose  criminals  and  captives. 
Some  persons  who  ofiended  him,  he  ordered  to 
be  branded  in  the  face  with  hot  irons,  by 
which  means  they  were  not  only  subjected  to 
cruel  torture  at  the  time,  but  were  frightfully 
disfigured  for  life.  Sometimes  when  the  sons 
of  noble  or  distinguished  men  displeased  him, 
or  when  under  the  influence  of  his  caprice  or 
malignity  he  conceived  some  feeling  of  ha- 
tred toward  them,  he  would  order  them  to  be 
publicly  executed,  and  he  would  require  their 
parents  to  be  present  and  witness  the  scene. 
At  one  time  after  such  an  execution  he  re- 
quired the  wretched  father  of  his  victim  to 
come  and  sup  with  him  at  his  palace  ;  and 
while  at  supper  he  talked  with  his  guest  all 
the  time,  in  a  light,  and  jocular,  and  mirthful 
manner,  in  order  to  trifle  with  and  insult  the 
mental  anguish  of  the  sufierer.  At  another 
time  when  he  had  commanded  a  distinguished 


32  Nero.  [A.D.  37, 

Agrippina  is  implicated  in  a  conspiracy. 

senator  to  be  present  at  the  execution  of  his 
son,  the  senator  said  that  he  would  go,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  emperor's  orders,  but  humbly 
asked  permission  to  shut  his  eyes  at  the  mo- 
ment of  the  execution,  that  he  might  be  spared 
the  dreadful  anguish  of  witnessing  the  dying 
struggles  of  his  son.  The  emperor  in  reply 
immediately  condemned  the  father  to  death 
for  daring  to  make  so  audacious  a  proposal. 

Of  course  the  connection  of  Agrippina,  the 
mother  of  Nero,  with  such  a  sovereign  as  this, 
while  it  gave  her  a  very  high  social  j)osition 
in  the  Roman  community,  could  not  contrib- 
ute much  to  her  happiness.  In  fact  all  who 
were  connected  with  Caligula  in  any  way 
lived  in  continual  terror,  for  so  wanton  and 
capricious  was  his  cruelty,  that  all  who  were 
liable  to  come  under  his  notice  at  all  were 
in  constant  danger.  Agrippina  herself  at 
one  time  incurred  her  brother's  displeasure, 
though  she  was  fortunate  enough  to  escape 
with  her  life.  Caligula  discovered,  or  pre- 
tended to  discover,  a  conspiracy  against  him, 
and  he  accused  Agrippina  and  another  of  his 
sisters  named  Livilla  of  being  implicated  in 
it.  Caligula  sent  a  soldier  to  the  leader  of 
the  conspiracy  to  cut  off  his  head,  and  then 


A.D.  37.]        Nero's  MoTiiEK.  33 

She  is  banished  with  her  sister  to  Pontia. 

he  banished  his  sisters  from  Rome  and  shut 
them  up  in  the  island  of  Pontia,  telling  them 
wlien  thej  went  away,  to  beware,  for  he  had 
Bwords  for  them  as  well  as  islands,  in  case  of 
need. 

At  length  Caligula's  terrible  tyranny  was 
brought  to  a  sudden  end  by  his  assassination; 
and  Agrii^pina,  in  consequence  of  this  event 
was  not  only  released  from  her  thraldom  but 
raised  to  a  still  higher  eminence  than  she  had 
enjoyed  before.  The  circumstances  connected 
with  these  events  will  be  related  in  the  next 
chapter. 

C 


34  I^ERo.  [A.D.  40. 

Plots  against  Caligula.  Cassius  Chscrea. 


CnAPTEE     11. 

The   Assassination   of   Caligula. 

THE  emperor  Caligula  came  to  his  death 
in  the  following  manner : 

Of  course  his  wanton  and  remorseless  tyr- 
anny often  awakened  very  deep  feelings  of 
resentment,  and  very  earnest  desires  for  re- 
venge in  the  hearts  of  those  who  suffered  by 
it ;  but  yet  so  absolute  and  terrible  was  his 
power,  that  none  dared  to  murmur  or  com- 
plain. The  resentment,  however,  which  the 
cruelty  of  the  emperor  awakened,  burned  the 
more  fiercely  for  being  thus  restrained  and 
suf>presse'd,  and  many  covert  threats  were 
made,  and  many  secret  plots  were  formed, 
from  time  to  time,  against  the  tyrant's  life. 

Among  others  who  cherished  such  designs, 
there  was  a  man  named  Cassius  Chserea,  an 
officer  of  the  army,  who,  though  not  of  high 
rank,  was  nevertheless  a  man  of  considerable 
distinction.  He  was  a  captain,  or,  as  it  was 
styled  in  those  days,  a  centurion.  His  com- 
mand, therefore,  was  small,  but  it  was  in  the 


A.D.  40.]     Death  of  Caligula.  35 

Chaerea's  bravery.  His  legion  mutinies. 

prsetorian  cohort,  as  it  was  called,  a  sort  of 
body-guard  of  the  commander-in-chief,  and 
consequently  a  very  honorable  corps.  Chserea 
was  thus  a  man  of  considerable  distinction  on 
account  of  the  post  which  he  occupied,  and 
his  duties,  as  captain  in  the  life  guards, 
brought  him  very  frequently  into  communica- 
tion with  the  emperor.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  personal  bravery,  too,  and  was  on  this 
account  held  in  high  consideration  by  the 
army.  He  had  performed  an  exploit  at  one 
time,  some  years  before,  in  Germany,  which 
had  gained  him  great  fame.  It  was  at  the 
time  of  the  death  of  Augustus,  the  first  em- 
peror. Some  of  the  German  legions,  and 
among  them  one  in  which  Chserea  was  serv- 
ing, had  seized  upon  the  occasion  to  revolt 
They  alledged  many  and  grievous  acts  of  op- 
pression as  the  grounds  of  their  revolt,  and 
demanded  redress  for  what  they  had  suffered, 
and  security  for  the  future.  One  of  tiie  first 
measures  which  they  resorted  to  in  the  frenzy 
of  the  first  outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  was  to 
seize  all  the  centurions  in  the  camp,  and  to 
beat  them  almost  to  death.  They  gave  them 
sixty  blows  each,  one  for  each  of  their  num- 
ber, and  then  turned  them,  bruised,  wounded, 


'36  Keko.  [A.D.  40. 

Chaerea  escapes  the  mutineers.  His  appearance. 

aod  dying,  out  of  the  camp.  Some  they 
threw  into  the  Rhine.  They  revenged  them- 
selves thus  on  all  the  centurions  but  one. 
That  one  was  Choerea.  Chrerea  would  not 
sulFer  himself  to  be  taken  by  them,  but  seizing 
his  sword  he  fought  his  way  through  the 
midst  of  them,  slaying  some  and  driving 
others  before  him,  and  thus  made  his  escape 
from  the  camp.  This  feat  gained  him  great 
renown. 

One  might  imagine  from  this  account  that 
Cha3rea  was  a  man  of  great  personal  superior- 
ity in  respect  to  size  and  strength,  inasmuch 
as  extraordinary  muscular  power,  as  well  as 
undaunted  courage,  would  seem  to  be  re- 
quired to  enable  a  man  to  make  his  way 
against  so  many  enemies.  But  this  was  not 
the  fact.  Chaerea  was  of  small  stature  and 
of  a  slender  and  delicate  form.  He  was 
modest  and  unassuming  in  his  manners,  too, 
and  of  a  very  kind  and  gentle  spirit.  He 
was  thus  not  only  honored  and  admired  for 
his  courage,  but  he  was  generally  beloved  for 
the  amia,ble  and  excellent  qualities  of  his 
hoart- 

The  possession  of  such  qualities,  however, 
could  not  be  expected  to  recommend  him  par- 


A.D.  40.]     Death  of  Caligula,  37 

His  just  dealings  displease  tlie  emperor. 

ticulai'lj  to  the  favor  of  the  emperor.  In  fact, 
in  one  instance  it  had  the  contrary  effect. 
Caligula  assigned  to  the  centurions  of  his 
guard,  at  one  period,  some  duties  connected 
with  the  collection  of  taxes.  Chaerea,  instead 
of  practicing  the  extortion  and  cruelty  com- 
mon on  such  occasions,  was  merciful  and  con- 
siderate, and  governed  himself  strictly  by 
the  rules  of  law  and  of  justice  in  his  collec- 
tions. The  consequence  necessarily  was  that 
the  amount  of  money  received  was  somewhat 
diminished,  and  the  emperor  was  displeased. 
The  occasion  was,  however,  not  one  of  suffi- 
cient importance  to  awaken  in  the  monarch's 
mind  any  very  serious  anger,  and  so,  instead 
of  inflicting  any  heavy  punishment  upon  the 
offender,  he  contented  himself  with  attempt- 
ing to  tease  and  torment  him  with  sundry 
vexatious  indignities  and  annoyances. 

It  is  the  custom  sometimes,  in  camjjs,  and 
at  other  military  stations,  for  the  commander 
to  give  every  evening,  what  is  called  the  pa- 
role or  password,  which  consists  usually  of 
some  word  or  phrase  that  is  to  be  communi- 
cated to  all  the  officers,  and  as  occasion  may 
require  to  all  the  soldiers,  whom  for  any  rea- 
son it  may  be  necessary  to  send  to  and  fro 


38  ^ERo.  [A.D.40. 

Pass-words  given  by  Nero  to  Chaerea. 

about  the  precincts  of  the  camp  during  the 
night.  The  sentinels,  also,  all  have  the  pass- 
word, and  accordingly,  whenever  any  man 
approaches  the  post  of  a  sentinel,  he  is 
stopped  and  the  parole  is  demanded.  If  the 
stranger  gives  it  correctly,  it  is  presumed  that 
all  is  right,  and  he  is  allowed  to  pass  on, — ■ 
since  an  enemy  or  a  spy  would  have  no  means 
of  knowing  it.  ' 

Now,  whenever  it  came  to  Cha^rea's  turn  to 
communicate  the  parole,  the  emperor  was  ac- 
customed to  give  him  some  ridiculous  or  inde- 
cent phrase,  intended  not  only  to  be  offensive 
to  the  purity  of  Chasrea's  mind,  but  designed, 
also,  to  exhibit  him  in  a  ridiculous  light  to 
the  subordinate  officers  and  soldiers  to  whom 
he  would  have  to  communicate  it.  Sometimes 
the  password  thus  given  was  some  word  or 
phrase  wholly  unfit  to  be  spoken,  and  some- 
times it  was  the  name  of  some  notorious  and 
infamous  woman  ;  but  whatever  it  was,  Chaer- 
ea  was  compelled  by  his  duty  as  a  soldier  to 
deliver  it  to  all  the  corps,  and  patiently  to 
submit  to  the  laughter  and  derision  which  his 
communication  awakened  among  the  vile  and 
wicked  soldiery. 

If  there  was  any  dreadful  punishment  to  be 


A.D.  40.]     Death  of  Caligula,  39 

Accusation  of  Pj'opedlus.  Quintilia's  testimony. 

inflicted,  or  cruel  deed  of  any  kind  to  be  per- 
formed, Caligula  took  great  pleasure  in  as- 
signing the  duty  to  Chaerea,  knowing  how  ab- 
horrent to  his  nature  it  must  be.  At  one  time 
a  senator  of  great  distinction  named  Prope- 
dius,  was  accused  of  treason  by  one  of  his 
enemies.  His  treason  consisted,  as  the  ac- 
cuser alledged,  of  having  spoken  injurious 
words  against  the  emperor.  Propedius  de- 
nied that  he  had  ever  spoken  such  words. 
The  accuser,  whose  name  was  Timidius,  cited 
a  certain  Quintilia,  an  actress,  as  his  witness. 
Propedius  was  accordingly  brought  to  trial, 
and  Quintilia  was  called  upon  before  the 
judges  to  give  her  testimony.  She  denied 
that  she  had  ever  heard  Propedius  utter  any 
such  sentiment  as  Timidius  attributed  to  him. 
Timidius  then  said  that  Quintilia  was  testify- 
ing falsely  :  he  declared  that  she  had  heard 
Propedius  utter  such  words,  and  demanded 
that  she  should  be  put  to  the  torture  to  com- 
pel her  to  acknowledge  it.  The  emperor 
acceded  to  this  demand,  and  commanded 
Chorea  to  put  the  actress  to  the  toi-ture. 

It  is,  of  course,  always  difficult  to  ascertain 
the  precise  truth  in  respect  to  such  transac- 
tions as  those  that  are  connected  with  plots 


40  Neeo.  [A.D.40. 

Chxrea  alarmed.  Quintilia's  private  signal. 

and  conspiracies  against  tyrants,  since  every 
possible  precaution  is,  of  course,  taken  by  all 
concerned  to  conceal  what  is  done.  It  is  prob- 
able, however,  in  this  case,  that  Propedius  had 
cherished  some  hostile  designs  against  Cali- 
gula, if  he  had  not  uttered  injurious  words, 
and  that  Quintilia  was  in  some  measure  in 
his  confidence.  It  is  even  possible  that  Chser- 
ea  may  have  been  connected  with  them  in 
some  secret  design,  for  it  is  said  that  when  he 
received  the  orders  of  Caligula  to  put  Quin- 
tilia to  the  torture  he  was  greatly  agitated  and 
alarmed.  If  he  should  apply  the  torture  se- 
verely, he  feared  that  the  unhappy  sufferer 
might  be  induced  to  make  confessions  or 
statements  at  least,  which  would  bring  de- 
struction on  the  men  whom  he  most  relied 
upon  for  the  overthrow  of  Caligula.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  he  should  attempt  to  spare  her, 
the  effect  would  be  only  to  provoke  the  anger 
of  Caligula  against  himself,  without  at  all 
shielding  or  saving  her.  As,  however,  he  was 
proceeding  to  the  place  of  torture,  in  charge 
of  his  victim,  with  his  mind  in  this  state  of 
anxiety  and  indecision,  his  fears  were  some- 
what relieved  b}^  a  private  signal  given  to 
him  by  Quintilia,  by  which  she  intimated  to 


A.D.  40.]     Death  of  Caligitla.  41 

Qiiintilia  is  put  to  the  torture  in  vain. 

him  that  he  need  feel  no  concern, — that  she 
would  be  faithful  and  true,  and  would  reveal 
nothing,  whatever  might  be  done  to  her. 

This  assurance,  while  it  allayed  in  some 
degree  Chaerea's  anxieties  and  fears,  must 
have  greatly  increased  the  mental  distress 
which  he  endured  at  the  idea  of  leading  such 
a  woman  to  the  awful  suffering  which  awaited 
her.  He  could  not,  however,  do  otherwise 
than  to  proceed.  Having  arrived  at  the  place 
of  execution,  the  wretched  Quintilia  was  put 
to  the  rack.  She  bore  the  agony  which  she 
endured  while  her  limbs  were  stretched  on 
the  torturing  engine,  and  her  bones  broken, 
with  patient  submission,  to  the  end.  She  was 
then  carried,  fainting,  helpless,  and  almost 
dead,  to  Caligula,  who  seemed  now  satisfied. 
He  ordered  the  unhappy  victim  of  the  torture 
to  be  taken  away,  and  directed  that  Prope- 
dius  should  be  acquitted  and  discharged. 

Of  course  while  passing  through  this  scene 
the  mind  of  Chserea  was  in  a  tumult  of  ascita- 
tion  and  excitement, — the  anguish  of  mind 
which  he  must  have  felt  in  his  compassion  for 
the  sufferer,  mingling  and  contending  with 
the  desperate  indignation  which  burned  in 
his  bosom  against  the  author  of  all  these  mis- 


42  Nero.  [A.D.  40. 

Anger  of  Cheerea.  His  determination  to  destroy  Caligula. 

eries.  He  was  wrought  up,  in  fact,  to  such  a 
state  of  frenzy  by  this  transaction,  that  as  soon 
as  it  was  over  he  determined  immediately  to 
take  measures  to  put  Caligula  to  death.  This 
was  a  very  bold  and  desperate  resolution. 
Caligula  was  the  greatest  and  most  powerful 
potentate  on  earth.  Chserea  was  only  a  cap- 
tain of  his  guard,  without  any  political  influ- 
ence or  power,  and  with  no  means  whatever 
of  screening  himself  from  the  terrible  conse- 
quences which  might  be  expected  to  follow 
from  his  attempt,  whether  it  should  succeed 
or  fail. 

So  thoroughly,  however,  was  he  now  arous- 
ed, that  he  determined  to  brave  every  danger 
in  the  attainment  of  his  end.  He  immediately 
began  to  seek  out  among  the  ofiicers  of  the 
army  such  men  as  he  supposed  would  be  most 
likely  to  join  him, — men  of  courage,  resolu- 
tion, and  faithfulness,  and  those  who,  from 
their  general  character  or  from  the  wrongs 
which  they  had  individually  endured  from 
the  government,  were  to  be  supposed  specially 
hostile  to  Caligula's  dominion.  From  among 
these  men  he  selected  a  few,  and  to  them  he 
cautiously  unfolded  his  designs.  All  approved 
of  them.     Some,  it  is  true,  declined  taking 


A.D.  40.]     Death  of  Caligttla.  43 

Conspiracy  fonned.  The  confederates.  Various  opinions. 

any  active  part  in  the  conspiracy,  but  they 
assured  Chserea  of  their  good  wishes,  and 
jjromised  solemnly  not  to  betray  him. 

The  number  of  the  conspirators  daily  in- 
creased. There  was,  however,  at  their  meet- 
ings for  consultation,  some  difference  of  opin- 
ion in  respect  to  the  course  to  be  pursued. 
Some  were  in  favor  of  acting  promptly  and  at 
once.  The  greatest  danger  which  was  to  be 
apprehended,  they  thought,  was  in  delay.  As 
the  consj)iracy  became  extended,  some  one 
would  at  length  come  to  the  knowledge  of  it, 
they  said,  who  would  betray  them.  Others, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  for  proceeding  cau- 
tiously and  slowly.  What  they  most  feared 
was  rash  and  Inconsiderate  action.  It  would 
be  ruinous  to  the  enterprise,  as  they  main- 
tained, for  them  to  attempt  to  act  before  their 
plans  were  fully  matured. 

Chserea  was  of  the  former  opinion.  He  was 
very  impatient  to  have  the  deed  performed. 
He  was  ready  himself,  he  said,  to  perform  it, 
at  any  time  ;  his  personal  duties  as  an  officer 
of  the  guard,  gave  him  frequent  occasions  of 
access  to  the  emperor,  and  he  was  ready  to 
avail  himself  of  any  of  them  to  kill  the  mon- 
ster.    The  emperor  went  often,  he  said,  to  the 


44  Nero.  [A.D.  40. 

Various  plans  proposed  fur  destroying  Caligula. 

capitol,  to  offer  sacrifices,  and  he  could  easily 
kill  him  there.  Or,  if  they  thought  that  that 
was  too  public  an  occasion,  he  could  have  an 
opportunity  in  the  palace,  at  certain  religious 
ceremonies  which  the  emperor  was  accustom- 
ed to  perform  there,  and  at  which  Chserea 
himself  was  usually  present.  Or,  he  was 
ready  to  throw  him  down  from  a  tower  where 
he  was  accustomed  to  go  sometimes  for  the 
purpose  of  scattering  money  among  the  popu- 
lace below.  Chasrea  said  that  he  could  easily 
come  up  behind  him  on  such  an  occasion,  and 
hurl  him  suddenly  over  the  parapet  down  to 
the  pavement  below.  All  these  plans,  how- 
ever, seemed  to  the  conspirators  too  uncertain 
and  dangerous,  and  Chserea's  proposals  were 
accordingly  not  agreed  to. 

At  length,  the  time  drew  near  when  Calig- 
ula was  to  leave  Rome  to  proceed  to  Alexan- 
dria in  Egypt,  and  the  conspirators  perceived 
that  they  must  prepare  to  act,  or  else  aban- 
don their  design  altogether.  It  had  been 
arranged  that  there  was  to  be  a  grand  cele- 
bration at  Rome  previous  to  the  emperor's 
departure.  This  celebration,  which  was  to 
consist  of  games,  and  sports,  and  dramatic 
performances  of  various  kinds,  was  to  con- 


A.D.  41.]     Death  of  Caligula.  45 

Final  determination.  The  three  days  festival. 

tinue  for  three  clays,  and  the  conspirators 
determined,  after  niueli  consultation  and  de- 
bate, that  Caligula  should  be  assassinated  on 
one  of  those  days. 

After  coming  to  this  conclusion,  however, 
in  general,  their  hearts  seemed  to  fail  them 
in  fixing  the  precise  time  for  the  perpetration 
of  the  deed,  and  two  of  the  three  days  passed 
away  accordingly  without  any  attempt  being 
made.  At  length,  on  the  morning  of  the 
third  day,  Chserea  called  the  chief  conspira- 
tors together,  and  urged  them  very  earnestly 
not  to  let  the  present  opportunity  pass  away. 
He  represented  to  them  how  greatly  they  in- 
creased the  danger  of  their  attempts  by  such 
delays,  and  he  seemed  himself  so  full  of  de- 
termination and  courage,  and  addressed  them 
with  so  much  eloquence  and  power,  that  he 
inspired  them  with  his  own  resolution,  and 
they  decided  unanimously  to  proceed. 

The  emperor  came  to  the  theater  that  day 
at  an  unusually  early  hour,  and  seemed  to  be 
in  excellent  spirits  and  in  an  excellent  humor. 
He  was  very  complaisant  to  all  around  him, 
and  very  lively,  affable,  and  gay.  After  per- 
forming certain  ceremonies,  by  which  it  de- 
volved upon  him  to  open  the  festivities  of  the 


46  Keeo.  [A.D.41. 

Brief  conversation.  The  recess.  Chserea's  duty. 

daj,  he  proceeded  to  his  place,  with  his 
friends  and  favorites  about  him,  and  Chaerea, 
with  the  other  officers  that  day  on  guard,  at  a 
little  distance  behind  him. 

The  performances  were  commenced,  and 
every  thing  went  on  as  usual  until  toward 
noon.  The  conspirators  kept  their  plans  pro- 
foundly secret,  except  that  one  of  them,  when 
he  had  taken  his  seat  by  the  side  of  a  distin- 
guished senator,  asked  him  whether  he  had 
heard  any  thing  new.  The  senator  replied 
that  he  had  not.  "  I  can  then  tell  you  some- 
thing," said  he,  "  which  perhaps  you  have 
not  heard,  and  that  is,  that  in  the  piece  which 
is  to  be  acted  to-day,  there  is  to  be  repre- 
sented the  death  of  a  tyrant."  "  Hush  !"  said 
the  senator,  and  he  quoted  a  verse  from  Ho- 
mer,  which  meant,  "  Be  silent,  lest  some  Greek 
should  overhear." 

It  had  been  the  usual  custom  of  the  emperor, 
at  such  entertainments,  to  take  a  little  recess 
about  noon,  for  I'est  and  refreshments.  It 
devolved  upon  Chaerea  to  wait  upon  him  at 
this  time,  and  to  conduct  him  from  his  place 
in  the  theater  to  an  adjoining  apartment  i^ 
his  palace  which  was  connected  with  the 
theater,  where  there  was  provided  a  bath  and 


A.D.  41.]     Death  of  Caligula.  47 


The  plan  seems  likely  to  fail. 


various  refreshments.  When  the  time  ar- 
rived, and  Chserea  perceived,  as  he  thought, 
that  the  emperor  was  about  to  go,  he  himself 
went  out,  and  stationed  himself  in  a  passage- 
way leading  to  the  bath,  intending  to  inter- 
cept and  assassinate  the  emperor  whea.  he 
should  come  along.  The  emperor,  however, 
delayed  his  departure,  having  fallen  into 
conversation  with  his  courtiers  and  friends, 
and  finally  he  said  that,  on  the  whole,  as  it 
was  the  last  day  of  the  festival,  he  would  not 
go  out  to  the  bath,  but  would  remain  in  the 
theater;  and  then  ordering  refreshments  to 
be  brought  to  him  there,  he  proceeded  to.  dis- 
tribute them  with  great  m'banity  to  the  offi- 
cers around  him. 

In  the  mean  time,  Chserea  was  patiently 
waiting  in  the  passage-way,  with  his  sword 
by  his  side,  all  ready  for  striking  the  blow 
the  moment  that  his  victim  should  appear. 
Of  course  the  conspirators  who  remained  be- 
hind were  in  a  state  of  great  suspense  and 
anxiety,  and  one  of  them,  named  Minucianus, 
determined  to  go  out  and  inform  Chorea  of 
the  change  in  Caligula's  plans.  He  accord- 
ingly attempted  to  rise,  but  Caligula  put  his 
hand  upon  his  robe,  saying,  "Sit  still,  my 


48  Nero.  [A.D.  41. 

Chacrea'B  ambuscade.  Minucianus. 

friend.  You  shall  go  with  me  presently." 
Minucianus  accordingly  dissembled  his  anxi- 
ety and  agitation  of  mind  still  a  little  longer, 
but  presently,  watching  an  opportunity  when 
the  emperor's  attention  was  otherwise  en- 
gaged, he  rose,  and,  assuming  an  unconcerned 
and  careless  air,  he  walked  out  of  the  theater. 

He  found  Choerea  in  his  ambuscade  in  the 
passage-way,  and  he  immediately  informed 
him  that  the  emperor  had  concluded  not  to 
come  out.  Chserea  and  Minucianus  were 
then  greatly  at  a  loss  what  to  do.  Some  of 
the  other  conspirators,  who  had  followed 
Minucianus  out,  now  joined  them,  and  a  brief 
but  very  earnest  and  solemn  consultation  en- 
sued. After  a  moment's  hesitation,  Chserea 
declared  that  they  must  now  go  through  with 
their  work  at  all  hazards,  and  he  professed 
himself  ready,  if  his  comrades  would  sustain 
him  in  it,  to  go  back  to  the  theater,  and  stab 
the  tyrant  there  in  his  seat,  in  the  midst  of 
his  friends.  Minucianus  and  the  others  con- 
curred in  this  design,  and  it  was  resolved 
immediately  to  execute  it.  \ 

The  execution  of  the  plan,  however,  in  the 
precise  form  in  which  it  had  been  resolved 
upon  was  prevented  by  a  new  turn  which  af- 


A.D.  41.]     Death  of  Caligula,  49 

Adroit  management  of  the  conspirators. 

fairs  had  taken  in  the  theater.  For  while 
Minucianus  and  the  two  or  three  conspirators 
who  had  accompanied  him  were  debating  in 
the  passage-way,  the  others  who  remained? 
knowing  that  Chserea  was  expecting  Caligula 
to  go  out,  conceived  the  idea  of  attempting  to 
persuade  him  to  go,  and  thus  to  lead  him  into 
the  snare  which  had  been  set  for  him.  They 
accordingly  gathered  around,  and  without 
any  appearance  of  concert  or  of  eagerness, 
began  to  recommend  him  to  go  and  take  his 
bath  as  usual.  He  seemed  at  length  disposed 
to  yield  to  these  persuasions,  and  rose  from 
his  seat;  and  then,  the  whole  company  at- 
tending and  following  him,  he  proceeded  to- 
ward the  doors  which  conducted  to  the  pal- 
ace. The  conspirators  went  before  him,  and 
under  pretense  of  clearing  the  way  for  him 
they  contrived  to  remove  to  a  little  distance 
all  whom  they  thought  would  be  most  disposed 
to  render  him  any  assistance.  The  consulta- 
tions of  Chferea  and  those  who  were  with  him 
in  the  inner  passage-way  were  interrupted  by 
the^coming  of  this  company. 

Among  those  who  walked  with  the  emperor 
at  this  time  were  his  uncle  Claudius  and  other 
distinguished  relatives.      Caligula  advanced 
D 


60  Nero.  [A.D.  41. 

The  Asiatic  boys.  Chaerea  strikes  Caligula  down. 

along  the  passage,  walking  in  company  with 
these  friends,  and  wholly  unconscious  of  the 
fate  that  awaited  him,  but  instead  of  going 
immediately  toward  the  bath  he  turned  aside 
first  into  a  gallery  or  corridor  which  led  into 
another  apartment,  where  there  were  assem- 
bled a  company  of  boys  and  girls,  that  had 
been  sent  to  him  from  Asia  to  act  and  dance 
upon  the  stage,  and  who  had  just  arrived. 
The  emperor  took  great  interest  in  looking  at 
these  performers,  and  seemed  desirous  of  hav- 
ing them  go  immediately  into  the  theater  and 
let  him  see  them  perform.  "While  talking  on 
this  subject  Chserea  and  the  other  conspirators 
came  into  the  apartment,  determined  now  to 
strike  the  blow. 

Chaerea  advanced  to  the  emj)eror,  and 
asked  him  in  the  usual  manner  what  should 
be  the  parole  for  that  night.  The  emperor 
gave  him  in  reply  such  an  one  as  he  had  often 
chosen  before,  to  insult  and  degrade  him. 
Chserea  instead  of  receiving  the  insult  meekly 
and  patiently  in  his  usual  manner,  uttered 
words  of  anger  and  defiance  in  reply ;  and 
drawing  his  sword  at  the  same  instant  he 
struck  the  emperor  across  the  neck  and  felled 
him  to  the  floor.     Caligula  filled  the  apart- 


A.D.  41.J     Death  of  Caligula.  51 

End  of  a  despot.  General  joy  in  the  palace. 

ment  with  bis  cries  of  pain  and  terror ;  the 
other  conspirators  rushed  in  and  attacked  him 
on  all  sides;  his  friends, — so  far  as  the  adhe- 
rents of  such  a  man  can  be  called  friends, — 
fled  in  dismay.  As  for  Caligula's  uncle  Clau- 
dius, it  was  not  to  have  been  expected  that  he 
would  have  rendered  his  nephew  any  aid,  for 
he  was  a  man  of  such  extraordinary  mental 
imbecility  that  he  was  usually  considered  as 
not  possessed  even  of  common  sense  ;  and  all 
the  others  who  might  have  been  expected  to 
defend  him,  either  fled  from  the  scene,  or 
stood  by  in  consternation  and  amazement, 
leaving  the  conspirators  to  wreak  their  ven- 
geance on  their  wretched  victim,  to  the  full. 

In  fact  though  while  a  despot  lives  and  re- 
tains his  power,  thousands  are  ready  to  de- 
fend him  and  to  execute  his  will,  however 
much  in  heart  they  may  hate  and  detest  him, 
yet  when  he  is  dead,  or  when  it  is  once  cer- 
tain that  he  is  about  to  die,  an  instantaneous 
change  takes  place  and  every  one  turns 
against  him.  The  multitudes  in  and  around 
tlie  theater  and  the  palace  who  had  an  hour 
before  trembled  before  this  mighty  potentate, 
and  seemed  to  live  only  to  do  his  bidding, 
were  filled  with  joy  to  see  him  brought  to  the 


52  Nero.  [A.D.  41. 

Savage  exultation  of  the  conspirators. 

dust.  The  conspirators,  when  the  success  of 
their  plans  and  the  death  of  their  oppressor 
was  once  certain,  abandoned  themselves  to 
the  most  extravagant  joy.  They  cut  and 
stabbed  the  fallen  body  again  and  again,  as 
if  they  could  never  enough  wreak  their  ven- 
geance upon  it.  They  cut  off  pieces  of  the 
body  and  bit  them  with  their  teeth  in  their 
savage  exultation  and  triumph.  At  length 
they  left  the  body  where  it  lay,  and  went  forth 
into  the  city  where  all  was  now  of  course  tu- 
mult and  confusion. 

The  body  remained  where  it  had  fallen  un- 
til late  at  night.  Then  some  attendants  of 
the  palace  came  and  conveyed  it  away.  They 
were  sent,  it  was  said,  by  Csesonia,  the  wife 
of  the  murdered  man.  Csesonia  had  an  infant 
daughter  at  this  time,  and  she  remained  her- 
self with  the  child,  in  a  retired  apartment  of 
the  palace  while  these  things  were  transpir- 
ing. Distracted  with  grief  and  terror  at  the 
tidings  that  she  heard,  she  clung  to  her  babe, 
and  made  the  arrangements  for  the  interment 
of  the  body  of  her  husband  without  leaving 
its  cradle.  She  imagined  perhaps  that  there 
was  no  reason  for  supposing  that  she  or  the 
child  were  in  any  immediate  danger,  and  ac- 


A.D. 41.]      Death  of  Caligula. 


53 


C.Tsonia  and  her  child. 


They  are  murdered. 


cordingly  she  took  no  measures  toward  ef- 
fecting an  escape.  If  so,  she  did  not  under- 
stand the  terrible  frenzy  to  which  the  con- 
spirators had  been  aroused,  and  for  which  the 
long  series  of  cruelties  and  indignities  which 
they  had  endured  from  her  husband  had  pre- 
pared~them.  For  at  midnight  one  of  them 
broke  into  her  apartment,  stabbed  the  mother 
in  her  chair,  and  taking  the  innocent  infant 
from  its  cradle,  killed  it  by  beating  its  head 
against  the  wall. 


54  N'eeo.  [A.D.  41. 

Supposed  necessity  for  destroying  the  child. 

Atrocious  as  this  deed  may  seem,  it  was  not 
altogether  wanton  and  malignant  cruelty 
which  prompted  it.  The  conspirators  in- 
tended by  the  assassination  of  Caligula  not 
merely  to  wreak  their  vengeance  on  a  single 
man,  but  to  bring  to  an  end  a  hated  race  of 
tyrants  ;  and  they  justified  the  murder  of  the 
wife  and  child  by  the  plea  that  stern  political 
necessity  required  them  to  exterminate  the 
line,  in  order  that  no  successor  might  subse- 
quently arise  to  re-establish  the  power  and  re- 
new the  tyranny  which  they  had  brought  to 
an  end.  The  history  of  monarchies  is  contin- 
ually presenting  us  with  instances  of  innocent 
and  helpless  children  sacrificed  to  such  a 
supposed  necessity  as  this. 


A.D. 41.]     AccEssioM  OF  Claudius.      55 

Ultimate  design  of  the  couspiratorH. 


Chaptek    III. 
The  Accession    of    Claudius. 

IN  the  assassination  of  Caligula,  the  con- 
spirators who  combined  to  perpetrate 
the  deed,  had  a  much  deeper  design  than  that 
of  merely  gratifying  their  personal  resent- 
ment and  rage  against  an  individual  tyrant. 
They  wished  to  effect  a  permanent  change  in 
the  government,  by  putting  down  the  army 
from  the  position  of  supreme  and  despotic 
authority  which  it  had  assumed,  and  restor- 
ing the  dominion  to  the  lloman  Senate,  and 
to  the  other  civil  authorities  of  the  city,  as  it 
had  been  exercised  by  them  in  former  years. 
Of  course,  the  death  of  Caligula  was  the  com- 
mencement, not  the  end,  of  the  great  struggle. 
The  whole  country  was  immediately  divided 
into  two  parties.  There  was  the  party  of  the 
Senate,  and  the  party  of  the  army ;  and  a 
long  and  bitter  conflict  ensued.  It  was  for 
some  time  doubtful  which  would  win  the 
day. 
In  fact,  immediately  after  Caligula  was 


56  Neko.  [A.D.  41. 

Effect  produced  by  the  tidings  of  Caligula's  death. 

killed,  and  the  tidings  of  liis  death  began  to 
spread  about  the  palace  and  into  the  streets 
of  the  city,  a  considerable  tumnlt  arose,  the 
precursor  and  earnest  of  the  dissensions  that 
were  to  follow.  Upon  the  first  alarm,  a  body 
of  the  emperor's  guards  that  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  attend  upon  his  person,  and  whom 
he  had  strongly  attached  to  himself  by  his 
lavish  generosity  in  bestowing  presents  and 
rewards  upon  them,  rushed  forward  to  defend 
him,  or  if  it  should  prove  too  late  to  defend 
him,  to  avenge  his  death.  These  soldiers  ran 
toward  the  palace,  and  when  they  found  that 
the  emperor  had  been  killed,  they  were  furi- 
ous with  rage,  and  fell  upon  all  whom  they 
met,  and  actually  slew  several  men.  Tid- 
ings came  to  the  theater,  and  the  word  was 
spread  from  rank  to  rank  among  the  people 
that  the  emperor  was  slain.  The  people  did 
not,  however,  at  first,  believe  the  story.  They 
supposed  that  the  report  was  a  cunning  con- 
trivance of  the  emperor  himself,  intended  to 
entrap  them  into  some  expression  of  pleasure 
and  gratification,  on  their  part,  at  his  death, 
in  order  to  give  him  an  excuse  for  inflicting 
some  cruel  punishment  upon  them.  The  noise 
and  tumult  in  the  streets  soon  convinced  them. 


A.D.  41.]     Accession  of  Claudius.      67 

Chjerea  and  the  conspirators  secrete  themselves. 


however,  that  something  extraordinar  had 
occurred ;  they  learned  that  the  news  <  /  the 
emperor's  death  was  really  true,  and  iilmost 
immediately  afterward  they  found,  to  their 
consternation,  that  the  furious  guards  were 
thundering  at  the  gates  of  the  theater,  and 
endeavoring  to  force  their  way  in,  in  order  to 
wreak  their  vengeance  on  the  assembly,  as  if 
the  spectators  at  the  show  were  accomplices 
of  the  crime. 

In  the  mean  time  Chorea  and  the  other 
chief  conspirators  had  fled  to  a  secret  place 
of  retreat,  where  they  now  lay  concealed.  As 
soon  as  they  had  found  that  the  object  of  their 
vengeance  was  really  dead,  and  when  they 
had  satisfied  themselves  with  the  pleasure  of 
cutting  and  stabbing  the  lifeless  body,  they 
stole  away  to  the  house  of  one  of  their  friends 
in  the  neighborhood,  where  they  could  lie  for 
a  time  secreted  in  safet^^.  The  life-guards 
sought  for  them  everywhere,  but  could  not 
find  them.  The  streets  were  filled  with  tu- 
mult and  confusion.  Rumors  of  every  kind, 
false  and  true,  spread  in  all  directions,  and 
increased  the  excitement.  At  length,  how- 
ever, the  consuls,  who  were  the  chief  magis- 
trates of  the  republic,  succeeded  in  organiz- 


58  Neko.  [A.D.  41, 

The  senate  is  convened.  Two  parties  formed. 


ing  a  force  and  in  restoring  order.  They  took 
possession  of  the  forum  and  of  the  capitol, 
and  posted  sentinels  and  guards  along  the 
streets.  They  compelled  the  emperor's  guards 
to  desist  from  their  violence,  and  retire.  They 
sent  a  herald  clothed  in  mourning  into  the 
theater,  to  announce  officially  to  the  people 
the  event  which  had  occurred,  and  to  direct 
them  to  repair  quietly  to  their  homes.  Hav- 
ing taken  these  preliminary  measures  they 
immediately  called  the  Senate  together,  to 
deliberate  on  the  emergency  which  had  oc- 
curred, and  to  decide  what  should  next  be 
done.  In  tbe  mean  time  the  emperor's  guards, 
having  withdrawn  from  the  streets  of  the  city, 
retired  to  their  camp  and  joined  their  com-' 
rades.  Thus  there  were  two  vast  powers 
organized — that  of  the  army  in  the  camp,  and 
that  of  the  Senate  in  the  city — each  jealous 
of  the  other,  and  resolute  in  its  determination 
not  to  yield,  in  the  approaching  conflict. 

In  times  of  sudden  and  violent  revolution 
like  that  which  attended  the  death  of  Caligula, 
the  course  which  public  affairs  are  to  take, 
and  the  question  who  is  to  rise  and  who  is  to 
fall,  seem  Often  to  be  decided  by  utter,  acci- 
dent.     It  was  strikingly  so  in  this  instance,  in 


A.D.41.]     Accession  of  Claudius.      59 

Account  of  Claudius.  His  apparent  imbecility. 

respect  to  tlie  selection,  on  the  part  of  the 
army,  of  the  man  who  was  to  take  the  post  of 
supreme  command  in  the  place  of  the  mur- 
dered emperor.  The  choice  fell  on  Claudius, 
Agrippina's  uncle.  It  fell  upon  him,  too,  as 
it  would  seem,  by  the  merest  chance,  in  the 
following  very  extraordinary  manner. 

Claudius,  as  has  already  been  said,  was 
Caligula's  uncle  ;  and  as  Caligula  and  Agrij)- 
pina  were  brother  and  sister,  he  was,  of  course, 
Agrippina's  uncle  too.  He  was  at  this  time 
about  fifty  years  of  age,  and  he  was  univer- 
sally ridiculed  and  contemned  on  account  of 
his  great  mental  and  personal  inferiority.  He 
was  weak  and  ill-formed  at  his  birth,  so  that 
even  his  mother  despised  him.  She  called 
him  "  an  unfinished  little  monster,"  and  when- 
ever she  wished  to  express  her  contempt  for 
any  one  in  respect  to  his  understanding,  she 
used  to  say,  "  You  are  as  stupid  as  my  son 
Claudius."  In  a  word,  Claudius  was  extreme- 
ly unfortunate  in  every  respect,  so  far  as 
natural  endowments  are  concerned.  His 
countenance  was  very  repulsive,  his  figure  w'as 
ungainly,  his  manners  were  awkward,  his 
voice  was  disagreeable,  and  he  had  an  impedi- 
ment in  his  speech.     In  fact,  he  was  consid- 


60  Nero.  [A.D.  41. 

Kvery  one  against  l>im.  Mode  of  teasing  him. 

ered  in  his  youth  as  almost  an  idiot.  He  was 
not  allowed  to  associate  with  the  other  Roman 
boys  of  his  age,  but  was  kept  apart,  in  some 
secluded  portion  of  the  palace,  with  women 
and  slaves,  where  he  was  treated  with  so  much 
cruelty  and  neglect  that  what  little  spirit  na- 
tm-e  had  given  him  was  crushed  and  destroy- 
ed. In  fact,  by  common  consent  all  seemed^ 
to  take  pleasure  in  teasing  and  tormenting 
him.  Sometimes,  when  he  was  coming  to  the 
table  at  an  entertainment,  the  other  guests 
would  combine  to  exclude  him  from  the  seats, 
in  order  to  enjoy  his  distress  as  he  ran  about 
from  one  part  of  the  table  to  another,  endeav- 
oring to  find  a  place.  If  they  found  him 
asleep  they  would  pelt  him  with  olives  and 
dates,  or  awaken  him  with  the  blow  of  a  rod 
or  a  whip  ;  and  sometimes  they  would  stealth- 
ily put  his  sandals  upon  his  hands  while  he 
was  asleep,  in  order  that  when  he  awoke  sud- 
denly they  might  amuse  themselves  with  see- 
ing him  rub  his  face  and  eyes  with  them. 

After  all,  however,  the  inferiority  of  Clau- 
dius was  not  really  so  great  as  it  seemed.  He 
was  awkward  and  ungainly,  no  doubt,  to  the 
last  degree  ;  but  he  possessed  some  consider- 
able capacity  for  intellectual  pursuits  and  at- 


A.D.-il.]     Accession  of  Claudius.      61 


His  situation  and  position  at  court. 


tainments,  and  as  he  was  prettv  effectually 
driven  away  from  society  by  the  jests  and 
ridicule  to  which  he  was  subjected,  he  devo- 
ted a  great  deal  of  time  in  his  retirement  to 
study,  and  to  other  useful  pursuits.  lie  made 
considerable  progress  in  the  efibrts  which  he 
thus  made  to  cultivate  his  mind.  He,  how- 
ever, failed  to  acquire  the  respect  of  those 
around  him ;  and  as  he  grew  up  he  seemed  to 
be  considered  utterly  incapable  of  performing 
any  useful  function  ;  and  during  the  time 
when  his  nephew  Caligula  was  emperor,  he 
remained  at  court,  among  the  other  nobles, 
but  still  neglected  and  despised  by  all  of 
them.  It  is  said  that  he  probably  owed  the 
preservation  of  his  life  to  his  insignificance, 
as  Caligula  would  probably  have  found  some 
pretext  for  destroying  him,  if  he  had  not 
thought  him  too  sj)iritless  and  imbecile  to 
form  any  ambitious  plans.  In  fact,  Claudius 
said  himself  afterward,  when  he  became  em- 
pei'or,  that  a  great  part  of  his  apparent  sim- 
plicity was  feigned,  as  a  measure  of  prudence, 
lo  protect  himself  from  injury.  When  Clau- 
dius grew  up  he  was  married  several  times. 
The  wife  who  was  living  with  him  at  the  time 
of  Caligula's  death  was  his  third  wife ;  her 


62  Neko.  [A.D.  41. 

The  wives  of  Claudius.  His  son  strangled  by  a  pear. 

name  was  Yaleria  Messalina.  She  was  his 
cousin.  Claudius  and  Messalina  had  one 
child — a  daughter,  named  Octavia.  Claudius 
had  been  extremely  unhappy  in  his  connec- 
tion with  the  wives  preceding  Messalina.  lie 
had  quarreled  with  them  and  been  divorced 
from  them  both.  He  had  had  a  daughter  by 
one  of  these  wives  and  a  son  by  the  other. 
The  son  was  suddenly  killed  by  getting  choked 
with  a  small  pear.  He  had  been  throwing  it 
into  the  air  and  attemj^ting  to  catch  it  in  his 
mouth  as  it  came  down,  when  at  last  it  slipped 
down  into  his  throat  and  strangled  him.  As 
for  the  daughter,  Claudius  was  so  exasperated 
with  her  mother  at  the  time  of  his  divorce 
from  her,  that  he  determined  to  disown  and 
reject  the  child  ;  so  he  ordered  the  terrified 
girl  to  be  strip23ed  naked,  and  to  be  sent  and 
laid  down  in  that  condition  at  her  wretched 
mother's  door. 

Clau-Mus,  as  has  already  been  stated,  was 
present  with  Caligula  at  the  theater,  on  the 
last  day  of  the  spectacle,  and  followed  him 
into  the  palace  when  he  went  to  look  at  the 
Asiatic  captives  ;  so  that  he  was  present,  or  at 
least  very  near,  at  the  time  of  his  nephew's 
assassination.     As  might  have  been  expected 


A.D.  41.]     Accession  of  Claudicts.      63 

Claudius  terrified.  His  hiding  place 

from  what  has  been  said  of  his  character,  he 
was  overwhelmed  with  consternation  and  ter- 
ror at  the  scene,  and  was  utterly  incapacitated 
from  taking  any  part,  either  for  or  against  the 
conspirators.  He  stole  away  in  great  fright, 
and  hid  himself  behind  the  hano-ino-s  in  a  dark 
recess  in  the  palace.  Here  he  remained  for 
some  time,  listening  in  an  agony  of  anxiety 
and  suspense  to  the  sounds  which  he  heard 
around  him.  He  could  hear  the  cries  and  the 
tumult  in  the  streets,  and  in  the  passages  of 
the  palace.  Parties  of  the  guards,  in  going 
to  and  fro,  passed  by  the  place  of  his  retreat 
from  time  to  time,  alarming  him  with  the 
clangor  of  their  weapons,  and  their  furious 
exclamations  and  outcries.  At  one  time  peej)- 
ing  stealthily  out,  he  saw  a  group  of  soldiers 
hurrying  along  with  a  bleeding  head  on  the 
point  of  a  pike.  It  was  the  head  of  a  promi- 
nent citizen  of  Rome  whom  the  guards  had 
intercejDted  and  killed,  supposing  him  to  be 
one  of  the  conspirators.  This  spectacle  greatly 
increased  Claudius's  terror.  He  was  wholly 
in  the  dark  in  respect  to  the  motives  and  the 
designs  of  the  men  who  had  thus  revolted 
against  his  nephew,  and  it  was  of  course  im- 
possible for  him  to   know  how  he   himself 


64 


N: 


lie  is  discovered  by  a  soldier. 


[A.D.  41. 


would  bo  regarded  by  either  party.  He  did 
not  dare,  therefore,  to  surrender  himself  to 
either,  butt  remained  in  his  concealment,  suf- 
fering great  anxiety,  and  utterly  unable  to  de- 
cide what  to  do. 

At  length,  -while  he  was  in  this  situation  of 
uncertainty  and  terror,  a  common  soldier  of 
the  guards,  named  Epirius,  who  happened  to 
pass  that  way,  accidentally  saw  his  feet  be- 
neath the  hangings,  and  immediately,  pulling 


DlSCOVEKY    OF    t;i,AUDIU.' 


A.D.  41.]     Accession  of  Claudius.      65 

Claudius  proclaimed  emperor.  Ilis  surprise. 

the  hangings  aside,  dragged  him  out  to  tiew. 
Claudius  supposed  now,  of  course,  that  his 
hour  was  come.  He  fell  on  his  knees  in  an 
agony  of  terror,  and  begged  the  soldier  to 
spare  his  life.  The  soldier,  when  he  found 
that  his  prisoner  was  Claudius,  the  uncle  of 
Caligula,  raised  him  from  the  ground  and  sa- 
luted him  emperor.  As  Caligula  left  no  son, 
Epirius  considered  Claudius  as  his  nearest 
relative,  and  consequently  as  the  heir.  Epir- 
ius immediately  summoned  others  of  the 
guard  to  the  place,  saying  that  he  had  found 
the  new  emperor,  and  calling  upon  them  to 
assist  in  conveying  him  to  the  camp.  The 
soldiers  thus  summoned  procured  a  chair,  and 
having  placed  the  astonished  Claudius  in  it, 
they  raised  the  chair  upon  their  shoulders,  and 
began  to  convey  it  away.  As  they  bore  him 
thus  along  the  streets,  the  jDeople  who  saw 
them  supposed  that  they  were  taking  him  to 
execution,  and  they  lamented  his  unhappy 
fate.  Claudius  himself  knew  not  what  to  be- 
lieve. He  could  not  but  hope  that  his  life 
was  to  be  saved,  but  then  he  could  not  wholly 
dispel  his  fears. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  soldiers  went  steadily 
forward  with  their  burden.     When  one  set  of 
R 


66  Neeo.  [A.D.  41. 

He  i8  borne  to  the  camp  and  proclaimed  emperor. 

bearers  became  fatigued,  they  set  down  the 
chair,  and  others  relieved  them.  No  one  mo- 
lested them,  or  attempted  to  intercept  them  in 
their  progress,  and  at  length  they  reached  the 
camp.  Claudius  was  well  received  by  the 
whole  body  of  the  army.  The  officers  held  a 
consultation  that  night,  and  determined  to 
make  him  em2:>eror.  At  first  he  was  extremely 
miwilling  to  accept  the  proffered  honor,  but 
they  urged  it  upon  him,  and  he  was  at  length 
induced  to  accept  it.  Thus  the  army  was  once 
more  provided  with  a  head,  and  prepared  tb 
engage  anew  in  its  conflict  with  the  civil  au- 
thorities of  the  city. 

The  particulars  of  the  conflict  that  ensued 
we  can  not  here  describe.  It  is  sufiicient  to 
say  that  the  army  prevailed,  and  that  Clau- 
dius soon  found  himself  in  full  possession  of 
the  power  from  which  his  nephew  had  been 
so  suddenly  deposed. 

One  of  the  first  measures  which  the  new 
emperor  adopted,  was  to  recall  Agrippina 
from  her  banishment  at  Pontia,  where  Ca- 
ligula had  confined  her,  and  restore  her  to  her 
former  position  in  Rome.  Her  husband, 
Brazenbeard,  died  about  this  time,  and  young 
Brazenbeard,  her  son,  afterward  called  Nero, 


A.D.  41.]     Accession  of  Claudius.      67 

Agrippina  recalled.  Messalina. 

the  subject  of  this  history,  was  three  years 
old.  Octavia,  the  daughter  of  Claudius  and 
Messalina,  was  a  little  younger. 

Messalina,  the  wife  of  Claudius,  hated 
Agrippina,  considering  her,  as  she  did,  her 
rival  and  enemy.  The  favor  which  Claudius 
showed  to  Agrippina,  in  recalling  her  from 
her  banishment,  and  treating  her  with  con- 
sideration and  favor  at  Rome,  only  inflamed 
still  more  Messalina's  hatred.  She  could  not, 
however,  succeed  in  inducing  Claudius  to 
withdraw  his  protection  from  his  niece ;  for 
Claudius,  though  almost  entirely  subject  to 
the  influence  and  control  of  his  wife  in  most 
things,  seemed  fully  determined  not  to  yield 
to  her  wishes  in  this.  Agrippina  continued, 
therefore,  to  live  at  Rome,  in  high  favor  with 
the  court,  for  several  years, — her  little  son 
advancing  all  the  time  in  age  and  in  matur- 
ity, until  at  length  he  became  twelve  years 
old.  At  this  time,  another  great  change  took 
place  in  his  own  and  his  mother's  condition. 
Messalina  became  herself,  by  her  wickedness 
and  infatuation,  the  means  of  raising  her  rival 
into  her  own  place  as  wife  of  the  emperor. 
The  result  was  accomplished  in  the  following 
•  manner. 


68  Nero.  [A.D.  47. 

Aies9alina''s  intrigues.  Her  hatred  of  Silaiius. 

Messalina  had  long  been  a  very  dissolute 
and  wicked  woman,  having  been  accustomed 
to  give  herself  up  to  criminal  indulgences  and 
pleasures  of  everj  kind,  in  comj^any  with  fa- 
vorites whom  she  selected  from  time  to  time 
among  the  courtiers  around  her.  For  a  time 
she  managed  these  intrigues  with  some  de- 
gree of  caution  and  secrecy,  in  order  to  con- 
ceal her  conduct  from  her  husband.  She 
gradually,  however,  became  more  and  more 
open  and  bold.  She  possessed  a  great  ascen- 
dency over  the  mind  of  her  husband,  and 
could  easily  deceive  him,  or  induce  him  to 
do  whatever  she  pleased.  She  persuaded 
him  to  confer  honors  and  rewards  in  a  very 
liberal  manner  upon  those  whom  she  favored, 
and  to  degrade,  and  sometimes  even  to  de- 
stroy, those  who  displeased  her.  She  w^ould 
occasionally  resort  to  very  cunning  artifices 
to  accomplish  her  ends.  For  example,  she 
conceived  at  one  time  a  violent  hatred  asrainst 
the  husband  of  her  mother.  His  name  was 
Silanus.  He  was  not  the  father  of  Messalina, 
but  a  second  husband  of  Messalina's  mother ; 
and,  being  young  and  attractive  in  person, 
Messalina  at  first  loved  him,  and  intended  to 
make  him  one  of  her  favorites  and  compan- 


A.D.  47.]     Accession  of  Claudius.     69 

Plan  for  destroying  Silnnus.  Narcissus's  pretended  dream. 

ions.  Silanus,  however,  would  not  accede  to 
her  wislies,  and  her  love  for  him  was  then 
changed  into  hatred  and  thirst  for  revenge. 
She  accordingly  determined  on  his  destrnc- 
tion ;  but  as  she  knew  that  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  induce  Claudius  to  proceed  to  extremi- 
ties against  him,  on  account  of  his  intimate 
relationship  to  the  family,  she  contrived  a 
very  artful  plot  to  accomplish  her  ends.  It 
was  this : 

She  sent  word  to  Silanus,  on  a  certain  eve- 
ning, that  the  emperor  wished  him  to  come 
to  the  palace,  to  his  private  apartment,  the 
next  morning,  at  a  very  early  hour.  The  em- 
peror wished  to  see  him,  the  messenger  said, 
on  business  of  importance. 

Just  before  the  time  which  had  been  ap- 
pointed for  Silanus  to  appear,  a  certain  officer 
of  the  household,  named  JSTarcissus,  whom 
Messalina  had  engaged  to  assist  her  in  her 
plot,  came  into  the  emperor's  apartment,  with 
an  anxious  countenance,  and  in  a  very  hur- 
ried manner,  and  said  to  Claudius,  whom  he 
waked  out  of  sleep  by  his  coming,  that  he 
had  had  a  very  frightful  dream — one  which 
he  deemed  it  his  duty  to  make  known  to  his 
master  without  any  delay.     He  dreamed,  he 


70  Neko.  [A.D.  47. 

Messalina's  confirmation  of  it,  Claudius  alarmed. 

said,  that  a  plot  had  been  formed  for  assassi- 
nating the  emperor ;  that  Silanus  was  the 
contriver  of  it,  and  that  he  was  coming  early 
that  morning  to  cany  his  design  into  effect. 
Messalina,  who  was  present  with  her  husband 
at  the  time,  listened  to  this  story  with  well-, 
feigned  anxiety  and  agitation,  and  then  de- 
clared, with  a  countenance  of  great  mysteri- 
ousness  and  solemnity,  that  she  had  had 
precisely  the  same  dream  for  two  or  three 
nights  in  succession,  but  that,  not  being  will- 
ing to  do  Silanus  an  injury,  or  to  raise  any 
unjust  suspicions  against  him,  she  had  thus 
far  forborne  to  sj^eak  of  the  subject  to  her 
husband.  She  was,  however,  now  convinced, 
she  said,  that  Silanus  was  really  entertaining 
some  treasonable  designs,  and  that  the  dreams 
were  tokens  sent  from  heaven  to  warn  the 
emperor  of  his  danger. 

Claudius,  who  was  of  an  extremely  timid 
and  nervous  temperament,  was  very  much 
alarmed  by  these  communications ;  and  his 
terrors  were  greatly  increased  by  the  appear- 
ance of  a  servant  who  announced  to  him  at 
that  moment  that  Silanus  was  then  coming  in. 
The  coming  of  Silanus  to  the  palace  at  that 
unseasonable  hour  was  considered  by  the  em- 


A.D.  47.]     Accession  of  Claudius.      71 

Silaiius  is  execuled.  Unbounded  influence  of  Messalina. 

peror  as  full  confirmation  of  the  dreams  which 
had  been  related  to  him,  and  as  proof  of  the 
guilt  of  the  accused ;  and  under  the  impulse 
of  the  sudden  passion  and  fear  which  this  con- 
viction awakened  in  his  mind,  he  ordered 
Silanus  to  be  seized  and  led  away  to  im- 
mediate execution.  These  commands  were 
obeyed.  Silanus  was  hurried  away  and  dis- 
patched by  the  swords  of  the  soldiers,  without 
ever  knowing  what  the  accusation  was  that 
had  been  made  against  him. 

Thus  Messalina  succeeded  by  artifice  and 
cunning  in  accomj)lishing  her  ends,  in  cases 
where  she  could  not  rely  on  her  direct  influ- 
ence upon  the  mind  of  the  emperor.  In  one 
way  or  the  other  she  almost  always  efiected 
whatever  she  undertook,  and  gradually  came 
to  exercise  almost  supreme  control,  "WTiom 
she  would  she  raised  up,  and  whom  she  would 
she  put  down.  In  the  mean  time  she  lived 
herself,  a  life  of  the  most  guilty  indulgence 
and  pleasure.  For  a  long  time  she  concealed 
her  wickedness  from  the  emperor.  He  was 
very  easily  deceived,  and  though  Messalina's 
character  was  perfectly  well  known  to  others, 
he  himself  continued  blind  to  her  guilt.  At 
length,  however,  she  began  to  grow  more  and 


72  Nero.  [A.D.  47. 

Caius  Silius.  Messalina's  attachment  to  him. 

more  bold.  She  became  satiated,  as  one  of  lier 
historians  says  of  her,  with  the  common  and 
ordinary  forms  of  vice,  and  wished  for  some- 
thing new  and  .unusual  to  give  piquancy  and 
life  to  her  sensations.  At  length,  however,  she 
went  one  step  too  far,  and  brought  upon  her- 
self in  consequence  of  it  a  terrible  destruction. 
It  was  about  seven  years  after  the  accession 
of  Claudius  that  the  event  occurred.  The  fa- 
vorite of  Messalina  at  this  time  was  a  young 
Homan  senator  named  Caius  Silius.  Silius 
was  a  very  distinguished  young  nobleman, 
and  a  man  of  handsome  person  and  of  very 
graceful  and  accomplished  manners  and  ad- 
dress. He  was  in  fact  a  very  general  favor- 
ite, and  Mes?alina,  Avhen  she  first  saw  him, 
conceived  a  very  strong  affection  for  him. 
He  was,  however,  already  married  to  a  beau- 
tiful Roman  lady  named  Junia  Silana.  Sila- 
na  had  been,  and  was  still  at  this  time,  an  in- 
timate friend  of  Agrippina,  Nero's  mother; 
though  in  subsequent  times  they  became  bit- 
ter enemies.  Messalina  made  no  secret  of 
her  love  for  Silius.  She  visited  him  freely  at 
his  house,  and  received  his  visits  in  return; 
she  accompanied  him  to  public  places,  evin- 
cing everywhere  her  strong  regard  for  him  ip 


A.D.  47.]     Accession  OF  Claudius.     73 

'   Hesitation  of  Silius.  His  decision.  Claudius. 

the  most  imdisguised  and  open  manner.  At 
length  she  proposed  to  him  to  divorce  his  wife, 
in  order  that  she  herself  niiglit  enjoy  his  soci- 
ety without  any  limitation  or  restraint.  Silius 
hesitated  for  a  time  about  complying  with 
these  proposals.  He  was  well  aware  that  he 
must  necessarily  incur  great  danger,  either  by 
complying  or  by  refusing  to  complj^  with 
them.  To  accede  to  the  empress's  proposals, 
would  be  of  course  to  place  himself  in  a  posi- 
tion of  extreme  peril ;  and  the  fate  of  Silanus 
was  a  warning  to  him  of  what  he  had  to  fear 
from  her  wrath,  in  case  of  a  refusal.  He 
concluded  that  the  former  danger  was  on  the 
whole  the  least  to  be  apprehended,  and  he 
accordingly  divorced  his  wife,  and  gave  him- 
self up  wholly  to  Messalina's  will. 

This  arrangement  being  made,  all  things 
for  a  time  went  on  smoothly  and  well.  Clau- 
dius himself  lived  a  very  secluded  life^  and 
paid  very  little  attention  to  his  wife's  pursuits 
or  pleasures.  He  lived  sometimes  in  retirement 
in  his  palace,  devoting  his  time  to  his  studies, 
or  to  the  plans  and  measures  of  government. 
He  seems  to  have  honestly  desired  to  promote 
the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  republic, 
and  he   made  many   useful  regulations   and 


74  Nero.  [A.D.  47. 

Public  works  at  Ostia.  The  obelisk.  Immense  ship. 

laws  Avliicli  promised  to  be  conducive  to  tliis 
end.  Sometimes  he  was  absent  for  a  season 
from  the.  city, — visiting  fortresses  and  en- 
campments, or  inspecting  the  public  works, 
such  as  aqueducts  and  canals,  which  were  in 
progress  of  construction.  He  was  particularly 
interested  in  certain  operations  which  he 
planned  and  conducted  at  the  months  of  the 
Tiber  for  forming  a  harbor  there.  The  place 
was  called  Ostia,  that  word  in  the  Latin 
tongue  denoting  mouths.  To  form  a  port 
there  he  built  two  long  piers,  extending  them 
in  a  curvilinear  form  into  the  sea,  so  as  to  in- 
close a  large  area  of  water  between  them, 
where  ships  could  lie  at  anchor  in  safety. 
Light-houses  were  built  at  the  extremities  of 
these  piers.  It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that 
in  forming  the  foundation  of  one  of  these 
piers,  the  engineers  whom  Claudius  employed 
sunk  an  immense  ship  which  Caligula  had 
formerly  caused  to  be  built  for  the  purpose  of 
transporting  an  obelisk  from  Egypt  to  Rome, 
— the  obelisk  which  now  stands  in  front  of 
St.  Peter's  Church,  and  is  the  admiration  and 
wonder  of  all  visitors  to  Rome.  As  the  obelisk 
was  formed  of  a  single  stone,  a  vessel  of  a  very 
large  size  and  of  an  unusual  construction  was 


A.D.  47.]     AccEssiGN  or  Claudius.     75 

Messalina  continues  her  wicked  career. 

necessary  for  the  conveyance  of  it ;  and  when 
this  ship  had  once  delivered  its  monstrous 
burden,  it  had  no  longer  any  useful  function 
to  perform  on  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  the 
engineers  accordingly  filled  it  with  stones  and 
gravel,  and*sunk  it  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber, 
to  form  part  of  the  foundation  of  one  of  Clau- 
dius's piers.  As  it  is  found  that  there  is  no 
jjerceptible  decay,  even  for  centuries,  in  tim- 
ber that  is  kept  constantly  submerged  in  the 
'water  of  the  sea,  it  is  not  impossible  that  the 
vast  hulk,  unless  marine  insects  have  devoured 
it  and  carried  it  away,  lies  imbedded  where 
Claudius  placed  it,  still. 

While  the  emperor  was  engaged  in  these 
and  similar  pursuits  and  occupations,  Messa- 
lina  went  on  in  her  career  of  dissipation  and 
indulgence  from  bad  to  worse,  growing  more 
and  more  bold  and  open  every  day.  She 
lived  in  a  constant  round  of  entertainments 
and  of  gayety — sometimes  receiving  com- 
panies of  guests  at  her  own  palace,  and  some- 
times making  visits  with  a  large  retinue  of 
attendants  and  friends,  at  the  house  of  Silius. 
Of  course,  every  one  paid  court  to  Silius,  and 
assumed,  in  their  intercourse  with  him,  every 
appearance  that  they  entertained  for  him  the 


76  Nero.  [A.D.  47. 

Siliiis  intoxicated  with  his  elevation. 

most  friendly  regard.  It  is  always  so  with 
the  favorites  of  the  great.  While  in  heart 
thej  are  hated  and  despised,  in  form  and  ap- 
pearance they  are  caressed  and  applauded. 
Silius  was  intoxicated  with  the  emotions  that 
the  giddy  elevation  to  which  he  had  arrived 
so  naturally  inspired.  He  was  not,  however, 
wholly  at  his  ease.  He  could  not  but  be  aware 
that  lofty  as  his  position  was,  it  was  the  brink 
of  a  precipice  that  he  stood  upon.  Still  he 
shut  his  eyes  in  a  great  measure  to  his  danger 
and  went  blindly  on.  The  catastrophe,  which 
came  very  suddenly  at  last,  will  form  the 
subject  of  the  next  chapter. 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  OF  Mess  ALiNA,  77 

Silius  forms  a  scheme  lor  making  himself  omperor. 


Chapter  IY.  • 
The  Fate  of  Messalina. 

A  S  might  naturally  have  been  expected, 
-^-*-  there  were  two  very  different  emotions 
awakened  in  the  mind  of  Silius  hy  the  situ- 
ation in  which  he  found  himself  placed  with 
Messalina, — one  was  ambition,  and  the  other 
'was  fear.  Finding  himself  suddenly  raised 
to  the  possession  of  so  high  a  degree  of  con- 
sideration and  influence,  it  was  natural  that 
he  should  look  still  higher,  and  begin  to  wish 
for  actual  and  official  power.  And  then,  on 
the  other  hand,  his  uneasiness  at  the  dangers 
that  he  was  exposed  to  by  remaining  as  he 
was,  increased  every  day.  At  length  a  plan 
occurred  to  him  which  both  these  consider- 
ations urged  him  to  adopt.  The  plan  was  to 
murder  Claudius,  and  then  to  marry  Messa- 
lina, and  make  himself  emperor  in  Claudius's 
place.  By  the  accomplishment  of  this  design 
he  would  effect,  he  thought,  a  double  object. 
He  would  at  once  raise  himself  to  a  post  of 
real  and  substantial  power,  and  also,  at  the 


78  Neeo.    ■  [A.D.  48. 

He  proposes  bis  plau  to  Messalina. 

same  time  place  himself  in  a  position  of  se- 
curity. He  resolved  to  propose  this  scheme 
to  Messalina. 

Accordingly,  on  the  first  favorable  oppor- 
tmiity,  he  addressed  the  empress  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  cautiously  made  known  his  design. 
"  I  wish  to  have  you  wholly  mine,"  said  he, 
"  and  although  the  emperor  is  growing  old, 
we  can  not  safely  wait  for  his  death.  "We  are, 
in  fact,  continually  exposed  to  danger.  We 
have  gone  quite  too  far  to  be  safe  where  we 
are,  and  by  taking  the  remaining  steps  neces- 
sary to  accomplish  fully  our  ends  we  shall 
only  be  completing  what  we  have  begun,  and 
by  so  doing,  far  j^om  incurring  any  new  pen- 
alties, we  shall  be  taking  the  only  efi'ectual 
method  to  protect  ourselves  from  the  dangers 
which  impend  over  us  and  threaten  us  now. 
Let  us,  therefore,  devise  some  means  to  re- 
move the  emperor  out  of  our  way.  I  will 
then  be  proclaimed  emperor  in  his  place,  and 
be  married  to  you.  The  power  which  you 
now  enjoy  will  then  come  back  to  you  again, 
undiminished,  and  under  such  circumstances 
as  will  render  it  permanently  secure  to  you. 
To  accomplish  this  will  be  very  easy ;  for  the 
emperor,  superannuated,  infirm,  and  stupid 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  OF  Messalina.  79 

Messalinu's  reply.  Her  motiyes.  Her  proposal. 

as  he  is,  can  not  protect  himself  against  any 
well-planned  and  vigorous  attempt  which  we 
may  make  to  remove  him ;  though,  if  we  re- 
main as  we  are,  and  any  accidental  cause 
should  arouse  him  from  his  lethargy,  we  may 
expect  to  find  him  vindictive  and  furious 
against  us  to  the  last  degree." 

Messalina  listened  to  this  proposal  with 
great  attention  and  interest,  but  so  far  as  re- 
lated to  the  proposed  assassination  of  the  em- 
peror she  did  not  seem  inclined  to  assent  to  it. 
"Her  historian  says  that  she  was  not  influ- 
enced in  this  decision  by  any  remaining  senti- 
ments of  conjugal  affection,  or  by  conscientious 
principle  of  any  kind,  but  by  her  distrust  of 
Silius,  and  her  unwillingness  to  commit  her- 
self so  entirely  into  his  power.  She  preferred 
to  keep  him  dependent  upon  her,  rather  than 
to  make  herself  dependent  upon  him.  She 
liked  the  plan,  however,  of  being  married  to 
him,  she  said,  and  would  consent  to  that,  even 
while  the  emperor  remained  alive.  And  so  if 
Silius  would  agree  to  it,  she  was  ready,  she 
added,  the  next  time  that  the  einperor  went 
to  Ostia,  to  have  the  ceremony  performed. 

That  a  wife  and  a  mother,  however  unprin- 
cipled and  corrupt,  should  make,  under  such 


80  Neko.  [A.D.4S. 

Audacity  of  Messalina  in  tliis  proposal. 

circumstances,  a  proposal  like  this  of  Messa- 
lina's,  is  certainly  very  extraordinary;  and  to 
those  who  do  not  know  to  what  extremes  of 
recklessness  and  infatuation,  the  irresponsible 
despots  that  have  arisen  from  time  to  time  to 
rule  mankind,  have  often  pushed  their  wicked- 
ness and  crime,  it*  must  seem  wholly  incred- 
ible. The  Roman  historian  who  has  recorded 
this  narrative,  assures  us,  that  it  was  the  very 
audacity  of  this  guilt  that  constituted  its 
charm  in  Messalina's  eyes.  She  had  become 
weary  of,  and  satiated  with,  all  the  ordinary 
forms  of  criminal  indulgence  and  pleasure. 
The  work  of  deceiving  and  imposing  upon  her 
husband,  in  order  to  secure  for  herself  the 
gratifications  which  she  sought,  was  for  a 
time  sufficient  to  give  zest  and  piquancy  to 
her  j)leasures.  But  he  was  so  easily  de 
ceived,  and  she  had  been  accustomed  to  de- 
ceive him  so  long,  that  it  now  no  longer 
afforded  to  her  mind  any  stimulus  or  excite- 
ment to  do  it  in  any  common  way.  But  the 
idea  of  being  actually  married  to  another  man 
while  he  was  absent  at  a  short  distance  from 
the  city,  would  be  something  striking  and 
new,  which  would  vary,  she  thought,  the  dull 
monotony  of  the  common  course  of  sin. 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  OF  Messalina.  81 


The  false  marriage  is  celebrated. 


The  proposed  marriage  was  finally  deter- 
mined upon,  and  the  mock  ceremony,  for  such 
a  ceremony  could,  of  course,  have  no  legal 
force,  was  duly  performed  at  a  time  when 
Claudius  was  absent  at  Ostia,  inspecting  the 
works  which  were  in  progress  there.  How  far 
the  pretended  marriage  was  open  and  public 
in  the  actual  celebration  of  it,  is  not  very  cer- 
tain ;  but  the  historians  say  that  it  was  con- 
ducted with  all  the  usual  ceremonies,  and 
was  attended  by  the  usual  witnesses.  The 
Service  was  performed  by  the  avgiir^  a  sort 
of  sacerdotal  officer,  on  whom  the  duty  of 
conducting  such  solemnities  j^roperly  de- 
volved. Messalina  and  Silius,  each  in  their 
turn,  repeated  the  words  pertaining  respec- 
tively to  the  bridegroom  and  the  bride.  The 
usual  sacrifice  t^o  the  gods  was  then  made, 
and  a  nuptial  banquet  followed,  at  which 
there  passed  between  the  new  married  pair 
the  caresses  and  endearments  usual  on  such 
occasions.  All  things  in  a  word  were  con- 
ducted, from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  as  in 
a  real  and  honest  wedding,  and  whether  the 
scene  thus  enacted  was  performed  in  public 
as  a  serious  transaction,  or  at  some  private 
entertainment  as  a  species  of  sport,  it  created 
F 


82  ISTero.  [A.D.48. 

Indignation  of  the  emperor's  friends. 

a  strong  sensation  among  all  who  witnessed 
it,  and  the  news  of  it  soon  spread  abroad  and 
became  very  generally  known. 

The  more  immediate  friends  of  Claudius 
were  very  indignant  at  such  a  proceeding. 
They  conferred  together,  uttering  to  each 
other  many  mui-murings  and  complaints,  and 
anticipating  the  worst  results  and  conse- 
quences from  what  had  occurred.  Silius, 
they  said,  was  an  ambitious  and  dangerous 
man,  and  the  audacious  deed  which  he  had 
performed  was  the  prelude,  they  believed,  to 
some  deep  ulterior  design.  They  feared  for 
the  safety  of  Claudius  ;  and  as  they  knew  very 
well  that  the  downfall  of  the  emperor  would 
involve  them  too  in  ruin,  they  were  naturally 
much  alarmed.  It  was,  however,  very  diffi- 
cult for  them  to  decide  what  to  do. 

If  they  were  to  inform  the  emperor  of  Mes- 
salina's  proceedings,  they  considered  it  wholly 
uncertain  what  effect  the  communication  would 
have  upon  him.  Like  almost  all  weak-minded 
men,  he  was  impulsive  and  capricious  in  the 
extreme  ;  and  whether,  on  a  communication 
being  made  to  him,  he  would  receive  it  with 
indifference  and  unconcern,  or,  in  case  his 
anger  should  be  aroused,  whether  it  would 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  OF  Messalina.  83 

Plot  formed  for  Messalina's  destruction. 

expend  itself  upon  Messalina  or  upon  those 
who  informed  him  against  her,  it  was  wholly 
impossible  to  foresee. 

At  length,  after  various  consultations  and 
debates,  a  small  number  of  the  courtiers  who 
were  most  determined  in  their  detestation  of 
Messalina  and  her  practices,  leagued  them- 
selves together,  and  resolved  upon  a  course  of 
procedure  by  which  they  hoped,  if  possible,  to 
effect  her  destruction.  The  leader  of  this 
company  was  Callistus,  one  of  the  officers  of 

X'laudius's  household.  He  was  one  of  the 
men  who  had  been  engaged  with  Chserea  in 
the  assassination  of  Caligula.  Narcissus  was 
another.  This  was  the  same  Narcissus  that  is 
mentioned  in  the  last  chapter,  as  the  artful 

-contriver,  with  Messalina,  of  the  death  of  Si- 
lanus.  Pallas  was  the  name  of  a  third  con- 
spirator. He  was  a  confidential  friend  and 
favorite  of  Claudius,  and  was  very  jealous, 
like  the  rest,  of  the  influence  which  Silius, 
through  Messalina,  exercised  over  his  master. 
These  were  the  principal  confederates,  though 
there  were  some  others  joined  with  them. 

The  great  object  of  the  hostility  of  these 
men,  seems  to  have  been  Silius,  rather  than 
Messalina.     This,  in  fact,  would  naturally  be 


84  Nero.  [A.D.  48. 

Plans  and  arrangements  of  the  conspirators. 

supposed  to  be  the  case,  since  it  was  Silius 
rather  than  Messalina  who  was  their  rival. 
Some  of  them  appear  to  have  hated  Messalina 
on  her  own  account,  but  with  the  others  there 
was  apparently  no  wish  to  harm  the  empress, 
if  any  other  way  could  be  found  of  reaching 
Silius.  In  fact,  in  the  consultations  which 
were  held,  one  plan  which  was  proposed  was 
to  go  to  Messalina,  and  without  evincing  any 
feelings  of  unkindness  or  hostility  toward  her, 
to  endeavor  to  persuade  her  to  break  off  her 
connection  with  her  favorite.  This  plan  was, 
however,  soon  overruled.  The  plotters  thought 
that  it  would  be  extremely  improbable  that 
Messalina  would  listen  to  any  such  proposition, 
and  in  case  of  her  rejection  of  it,  if  it  were 
made,  her  anger  would  be  aroused  strongly 
against  them  for  making  it :  and  then,  even 
if  she  should  not  attempt  to  take  vengeance 
upon  them  for  their  presumption,  she  would 
at  any  rate  put  herself  effectually  upon  her 
guard  against  any  thing  else  which  they 
should  attempt  to  do.  The  plan  of  separating 
Messalina  and  Silius  was,  therefore,  abandon- 
ed, and  the  determination  resolved  upon  to 
take  measures  for  destroying  them  both  to- 
gether. 


A.D.  48.J     Fate  OF  Messalina.  85 

Their  hesitation.  Calpurnia.  Motives  addressed  to  her. 

The  course  which  the  confederates  decided 
to  pursue  ia  order  to  effect  their  object,  was 
to  proceed  to  Ostia,  where  Chiudius  still  re- 
mained, and  there  make  known  to  him  what 
Messalina  and  Silius  had  done,  and  endeavor 
to  convince  him  that  this  audacious  conduct 
on  their  part  was  only  the  prelude  to  open 
violence  against  the  life  of  the  emperor.  It 
would  seem,  however,  that  no  one  of  them 
was  quite  willing  to  take  upon  himself  the  of- 
fice of  making  such  a  communication  as  this, 
in  the  first  instance,  to  such  a  man.  They  did 
"^not  know  how  he  would  receive  it, — or  against 
whom  the  first  weight  of  his  resentment  and 
rage  would  fall.  Finally,  after  much  hesita- 
tion and  debate,  they  concluded  to  emjjloy  a 
certain  female  for  the  purpose, — a  courtesan 
named  Calpurnia.  Calpurnia  was  a  favorite 
and  companion  of  Claudius,  and  as  such  they 
thought  she  might  perhaps  have  an  opportu- 
nity to  approach  him  with  the  subject  under 
such  circumstances  as  to  diminish  the  danger. 
At  any  rate,  Calpurnia  was  easily  led  by  such 
inducements  as  the  conspirators  laid  before 
her,  to  undertake  the  commission.  They  not 
only  promised  her  suitable  rewards,  but  they 
appealed  also  to  the  jealousy  and  hatred  which 


86  Keko.  [A.D.48. 

Calpurnia  and  Cleopatra  undertake  their  task. 

such  a  woman  would  naturally  feel  toward 
Messalina,  who,  being  a  wife,  while  Calpurnia 
was  only  a  companion  and  favorite,  would 
of  course  be  regarded  as  a  rival  and  enemy. 
They  represented  to  Calpurnia  how  entirely 
changed  for  the  better  her  situation  would  be, 
if  Messalina  could  once  be  put  out  of  the  way. 
There  would  then,  they  said,  be  none  to  inter- 
fere with  her  ;  but  her  influence  and  ascend- 
ency over  the  emperor's  mind  would  be  estab- 
lished on  a  permanent  and  lasting  footing. 

Calpurnia  was  very  easily  led  by  these  in- 
ducements to  undertake  the  commission. 
There  was  another  courtesan  named  Cleo- 
patra, who,  it  was  arranged,  should  be  at  hand 
when  Calj^urnia  made  her  communication, 
to  confirm  the  truth  of  it,  should  any  confir- 
mation seem  to  be  required.  The  other  con- 
spirators, also,  were  to  be  near,  ready  to  be 
called  in  and  to  act  as  occasion  might  require, 
in  case  Calpurnia  and  Cleopatra  should  find 
that  their  statement  was  making  the  right  im- 
pression. Things  being  all  thus  arranged  the 
party  proceeded  to  Ostia  to  carry  their  plans 
into  execution. 

In  the  mean  time  Messalina  and  Silius, 
wholly  unconscious  of  the  danger,  gave  them- 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  of  Messalina.        •     8T 

Messalina'8  festival  in  the  palace  gardens. 

selves  up  with  greater  and  greater  boldness 
and  unconcern  to  their  guilty  pleasures.  On 
the  day  when  Callistus  and  his  party  went  to 
Ostia  she  was  celebrating  a  festival  at  her 
palace  with  great  gayety  and  splendor.  It 
was  in  the  autumn  of  the  year,  and  the  fes- 
tival was  in  honor  of  the  season.  In  the 
countries  on  the  Mediten-anean  the  gathering 
of  grapes  and  the  pressing  of  the  juice  for 
wine,  is  the  great  subject  of  autumnal  rejoic- 
ings ;  and  Messalina  had  arranged  a  festival 
in  accordance  with  the  usual  customs,  in  the 
gardens  of  the  palace.  A  wine-press  had 
been  erected,  and  grapes  were  gathered  and 
brought  to  it.  The  guests  whom  Messalina 
had  invited  w^ere  assembled  around ;  some 
were  dancing  about  the  wine-press,  some  were 
walking  in  the  alleys,  and  some  were  seated 
in  the  neighboring  bowers.  They  were  dress- 
ed in  fancy  costumes,  and  their  heads  were 
adorned  with  garlands  of  flowers.  There  was 
a  group  of  dancing  girls  who  were  engaged 
as  performers  on  the  occasion,  to  dance  for 
the  amusement  of  the  company,  in  honor  of 
Bacchus,  the  god  of  wine.  These  girls  were 
dressed,  so  far  as  they  were  clothed  at  all,  in 
robes  made  of  the  skins  of  tigers,  and  their 


88  Neeo.  [A.D.  48. 

Oalpurnia'a  interview  with  Claudius  at  Ostia. 

heads  were  crowned  with  flowers.  Messalina 
herself,  however,  was  the  most  conspicuous 
object  among  the  gay  throng.  She  was  robed 
in  a  manner  to  display  most  fully  the  graces 
of  her  person ;  her  long  hair  waving  loosely 
in  the  wind.  She  had  in  her  hand  a  symbol, 
or  badge,  called  the  thyrsus,  which  was  an 
ornamented  staff,  or  pole,  surmounted  with  a 
carved  representation  of  a  bunch  of  grapes, 
and  with  other  ornaments  and  emblems.  The 
thyrsus  was  always  used  in  the  rites  and  fes- 
tivities celebrated  in  honor  of  Bacchus.  Silius 
himself,  dressed  like  the  rest  in  a  fantastic 
and  theatrical  costume,  danced  by  the  side  of 
Messalina,  in  the  center  of  a  ring  of  dancing 
girls  which  was  formed  around  them. 

In  the  mean  time,  while  this  gay  party 
were  thus  enjoying  themselves  in  the  palace 
gardens  at  Rome,  a  very  different  scene  was 
enacting  at  Ostia.  Calpurnia,  in  her  secret 
interview  with  Claudius,  seizing  upon  a  mo- 
ment which  seemed  to  her  favorable  for  her 
purpose,  kneeled  down  before  him  and  made 
the  communication  with  which  she  had  been 
charged.  She  told  him  of  Messalina's  con- 
duct, and  informed  him  particularly  how  she 
had  at  last  crowned  the  dishonor  of  her  hus- 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  or  Messalina.  91 


Claudius  is  exceedingly  terrified. 


band  by  openly  marrying  Silius,  or  at  least 
pretending  to  do  so.  "  Your  friends  believe," 
she  added,  "  that  she  and  Silius  entertain  still 
more  criminal  designs,  and  that  your  life  will 
be  sacrificed  unless  you  immediately  adopt 
vigorous  and  decided  measures  to  avert  the 
danger," 

Claudius  was  very  much  amazed,  and  was 
also  exceedingly  terrified  at  this  communica- 
tion. He  trembled  and  turned  pale,  then  looked 
-^Id  and  excited,  and  began  to  make  inqui- 
ries in  an  incoherent  and  distracted  manner. 
Calpurnia  called  in  Cleopatra  to  confirm  her 
story.  Cleopatra  did  confirm  it,  of  course,  in 
the  fullest  and  most  unqualified  manner. 
The  efiect  which  was  produced  upon  the  mind 
of  the  emperor  seemed  to  be  exactly  what  the 
conspirators  had  desired.  He  evinced  no  dis- 
position to  justify  or  to  defend  Messalina,  or 
to  be  angry  with  Calpurnia  and  Cleopatra  for 
making  such  charges  against  her.  His  mind 
seemed  to  be  wholly  absorbed  with  a  sense 
of  the  dangers  of  his  situation,  and  Narcissus 
was  accordingly  sent  for  to  come  in, 

JSTarcissus,  when  appealed  to,  acknowledged, 
though  with  well-feigned  reluctance  and  hesi- 
tation, the  truth  of  what  Calpm-nia  had  de- 


92  Neeo.  [A.D.  48. 

The  statement  of  Narcissus.  Council  called. 

clared,  and  he  immediately  began  to  apolo- 
gize for  his  own  remissness  in  not  having 
before  made  the  case  known.  He  spoke  with 
great  moderation  of  Messalina,  and  also  of 
Silius,  as  if  his  object  were  to  appease  rather 
than  to  inflame  the  anger  of  the  emperor. 
He  however  admitted,  he  said,  that  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  that  something  decisive 
should  be  done.  "  Your  wife  is  taken  from 
you,"  said  he,  "  and  Silius  is  master  of  her. 
The  next  thing  will  be  that  he  will  be  master 
of  the  rej^ublic.  He  may  even  already  have 
gained  the  Praetorian  guards  over  to  his  side, 
in  which  case  all  is  lost.  It  is  absolutely  ne- 
cessary that  some  immediate  and  decisive  ac- 
tion should  be  taken." 

Claudius,  in  great  trepidation,  immediately 
called  together  such  of  his  prominent  council- 
lors and  friends  as  were  at  hand  at  Ostia,  to 
consult  on  what  was  to  be  done.  Of  course, 
it  was  principally  the  conspirators  themselves 
that  appeared  at  this  council.  They  crowded 
around  the  emperor  and  urged  him  immedi- 
ately to  take  the  most  decisive  measures  to 
save  himself  from  the  impending  danger,  and 
they  succeeded  so  well  in  working  upon  his 
fears  that  he  stood   before  them  in   stupid 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  of  Messalina.  93 

Measures  adopted  by  Claudius  and  the  conspirators. 

amazement,  wholly  incapable  of  deciding 
■what  to  say  or  do.  The  conspirators  urged 
upon  the  emperor  the  necessity  of  first  secur- 
ing the  guard.  This  body  was  commanded 
by  an  officer  named  Geta,  on  whom  Narcissus 
said  no  reliance  could  be  placed,  and  he  begged 
that  Claudius  would  immediately  authorize 
him,  Narcissus,  to  take  the  command.  The 
object  of  the  confederates  in  thus  wishing  to 
get  command  of  the  guard  was,  perhaps,  to 
-Tlfake  sure  of  the  prompt  and  immediate  exe- 
cution of  any  sentence  which  they  might  suc- 
ceed in  inducing  the  emperor  to  pronounce 
upon  Silius  or  Messalina,  before  he  should 
have  the  opportunity  of  changing  his  mind. 
The  emperor  turned  from  one  adviser  to  an- 
other, listening  to  their  various  suggestions 
and  plans,  but  he  seemed  bewildered  and  un- 
decided, as  if  he  knew  not  what  to  do.  It 
was,  however,  at  length,  determined  to  pro- 
ceed immediately  to  Home.  The  whole  party 
accordingly  mounted  into  their  carriages, 
Narcissus  taking  his  seat  by  the  side  of  the 
emperor  in  the  imperial  chariot,  in  order  that 
he  might  keep  up  the  excitement  and  agita- 
tion in  his  master's  mind  by  his  conversation 
on  the  way. 


94  Keeo.  [A.D.48. 

Messalina  receives  warning.  Scene  in  the  garden. 

In  the  mean  time  there  were  among  those 
who  witnessed  these  proceedings  at  Ostia, 
some  who  were  disposed  to  take  sides  with 
Messalina  and  Silius,  in  the  approaching 
struggle  ;  and  they  immediately  dispatched  a 
special  messenger  to  Kome  to  warn  the  em- 
j)ress  of  the  impending  danger.  This  messen- 
ger rode  up  along  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  m- ith 
all  speed,  and  in  advance  of  the  emperor'^ 
party.  On  his  arrival  in  the  city  he  immedi- 
ately repaired  to  the  palace  gardens  and  com- 
municated his  errand  to  Messalina  and  her 
company  in  the  midst  of  their  festivities. 
Claudius  had  been  informed,  he  said,  against 
her  and  Silius,  and  was  almost  beside  him- 
self with  resentment  and  anger.  He  was  al- 
ready on  his  way  to  Rome,  the  messenger 
added,  coming  to  wreak  vengeance  upon 
them,  and  he  warned  them  to  escape  for  their 
lives.  This  communication  was  made,  of 
course,  in  the  first  instance,  somewhat  pri- 
vately to  the  parties  principally  concerned. 
It,  however,  put  a  sudden  stop  to  all  the  hilar- 
ity and  joy,  and  the  tidings  were  rapidly  cir- 
culated around  the  gardens.  One  man 
climbed  into  a  tree  and  looked  ofl'  in  the  di- 
rection of  Ostia,     The  others  asked  him  what 


A.D.  48,]     Fate  OF  Messalina.  ■    •       95 

Silius  withdraws.  Messalina's  anxiety. 

he  saw.  "  I  see  a  great  storm  arising  from  the 
sea  at  Ostia,"  said  he,  "  and  coming  hither,  and 
it  is  time  for  us  to  save  om-selves,"  In  a  word 
the  bacchanalian  games  and  sports  were  all 
soon  broken  up  in  confusion,  and  the  com- 
pany made  their  escape  from  the  scene,  each 
bj  a  different  way. 

Silius  immediately  resumed  his  ordinary 
dress,  and  went  forth  into  the  city,  where, 
under  an  assumed  appearance  of  indifference 
and  unconcern,  he  walked  about  in  the  forum, 
as  if  nothing  unusual  had  occurred.  Messa- 
lina herself  fled  to  the  house  of  a  friend, 
named  Lucullus,  and,  passing  immediately 
tlirough  the  house,  sought  a  hiding-place  in 
the  gardens.  Here  her  mind  began  to  be 
overwhelmed  with  anguish,  remorse,  and  ter- 
ror. Her  sins,  now  that  a  terrible  retribution 
for  them  seemed  to  be  impending,  rose  before 
her  in  all  their  enormity,  and  she  knew  not 
what  to  do.  She  soon  reflected  that  there 
could  be  no  permanent  safety  for  her  where 
she  was,  for  the  advanced  guards  of  Claudius, 
which  were  even  then  entering  the  city  and 
commencing  their  arrests,  would  be  sure  soon 
to  discover  the  place  of  her  retreat,  and  bring 
her  before  her  exasperated   husband.     She 


96      •  IS'ero.  [A.D.  48. 

Messalina'a  course  of  action.  Her  two  children. 

concluded  that,  i-ather  than  wait  for  this,  it 
would  be  better  for  her  to  go  before  him  her- 
self voluntarily ;  and,  'by  throwing  herself 
uj)on  his  mercy,  endeavur  to  soften  and  ap- 
pease him.  She  accordingly,  in  her  distrac- 
tion, determined  to  pursue  this  course.  She 
came  forth  from  her  hiding-place  in  Lucullus's 
gardens,  and  went  to  seek  her  children,  in- 
tending to  take  them  with  her,  that  the  sight 
of  them  might  help  to  move  the  heart  of  their 
father.  Her  children  were  two  in  number. 
Octavia,  who  has  already  been  mentioned, 
was  the  eldest,  being  now  about  ten  or  twelve 
years  of  age.  The  other  was  a  boy  several 
years  younger ;  his  name  was  Britannicus. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  city  was  thrown  quite 
into  a  state  of  commotion,  by  the  approach 
of  Claudius,  and  by  the  tidings  which  had 
spread  rapidly  through  the  streets,  of  what 
had  occurred.  The  soldiers  whom  Claudius 
had  sent  forward,  were  making  arrests  in  the 
streets,  and  searching  the  houses.  In  the 
midst  of  this  excitement,  Messalina,  with  her 
children,  attended  by  one  of  the  vestal  vir- 
gins, named  Vibidia,  whom  she  had  jirevailed 
upon  to  accompany  her  and  plead  her  cause, 
came  forth  from  her  palace  on  foot,  and  pro- 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  OF  Messalina.  97 

She  proceeds  to  meet  the  emperor.  Her  entreaties. 

ceeded  through  the  streets,  her  hair  dishev- 
eled, her  dress  in  disorder,  and  her  whole 
appearance  marked  by  every  characteristic  of 
humiliation,  abasement,  and  woe.  When  she 
reached  the  gate  of  the  city,  she  mounted 
into  a  common  cart  which  she  found  there, 
and  in  that  manner  proceeded  to  meet  her 
angry  husband,  leaving  her  children  with  Yi- 
bidia,  the  vestal,  to  follow  behind. 

She  had  not  proceeded  very  far,  before  she 
ntet  the  emperor's  train  approaching.  As 
soon  as  she  came  near  enough  to  the  carriage 
of  Claudius  to  be  heard,  she  began  to  utter 
loud  entreaties  and  lamentations,  begging  her 
husband  to  hear  before  he  condemned  her. 
"  Hear  your  unhappy  wife,"  said  she,  "  hear 
the  mother  of  Britannicus  and  Octavia." 
Narcissus  and  the  others  who  were  near,  in- 
terj)Osed  to  prevent  her  from  being  heard. 
They  talked  continually  to  the  emperor,  and 
produced  a  written  memorial  and  other  papers 
for  him  to  read,  which  contained,  they  said, 
a  full  account  of  the  whole  transaction.  Clau- 
dius, taking  very  little  notice  of  his  wife, 
pursued  his  way  toward  the  city.  She  fol- 
lowed in  his  train.  When  they  drew  near  to 
the  gates,  they  met  Vibidia  and  the  children. 
G 


98  Nero.  [A.D.  48. 

Claudius  will  not  hear  her.  Vibidia  repulsed. 

Yibidia  attempted  to  speak,  but  Claudius 
would  not  listen.  She  complained,  in  a 
mournful  tone,  that  for  him  to  condemn  his 
wife  unheard,  would  be  unjust  and  cruel;  but 
Claudius  was  unmoved.  He  told  V^ibidia 
that  Messalina  would  in  due  time  have  a 
suitable  opportunity  to  make  her  defense, 
and  that,  in  the  mean  time,  the  proper  duty 
of  a  vestal  virgin  was  to  confine  herself  to 
the  functions  of  her  sacred  office.  Thus  he 
sent  both  her  and  the  children  away. 

As  soon  as  the  party  arrived  in  the  city 
Narcissus  conducted  the  emperor  to  the  house 
of  Silius,  and  entering  it  he  showed  to  the 
emperor  there  a  great  number  of  proofs  of  the 
guilty  favoritism  which  the  owner  of  it  had 
enjoyed  with  Messalina.  The  house  was 
filled  with  valuable  presents,  the  tokens  of 
Messalaina's  love,  consisting,  many  of  them, 
of  costly  household  treasures  which  had  de- 
scended to  Claudius  in  the  imperial  line,  and 
which  were  of  such  a  character  that  the  alien- 
ation of  them  by  Messalina,  in  such  a  way, 
was  calculated  to  fill  the  heart  of  Claudius 
with  indignation  and  anger.  The  emperor 
then  proceeded  to  the  camp.  Silius  and  sev- 
eral of  his  leading  friends  were  arrested  and 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  of  Messalina.  99 


Cluudiuii  at  supper. 


brought  together  before  a  sort  of  military  tri- 
bunal summoned  on  the  spot  to  try  them. 
The  trial  was  of  course  very  brief  and  very 
summary.  They  were  all  condemned  to  death 
and  were  led  out  to  instant  execution. 

This  being  done  the  emperor  returned  with  * 
his  friends  to  the  city  and  repaired  to  his  pal- 
ace. His  mind  seemed  greatly  relieved.  He 
felt  that  the  crisis  of  danger  was  past.  He 
^•dered  supper  to  be  prepared,  and  when  it 
was  ready  he  seated  himself  at  table.  He 
congratulated  himself  and  his  friends  on  the 
escape  from  the  perils  that  had  surrounded 
them,  which  they  had  so  happily  accom- 
plished. Narcissus  and  the  others  began  to 
tremble  lest  after  all  Messalina  should  be 
spared ;  and  they  knew  full  well  that  if  she 
should  be  allowed  to  live,  she  would  soon,  by 
her  artful  management,  regain  her  ascend- 
ency over  the  emperor's  mind,  and  that  in 
that  case  she  would  give  herself  no  rest  until 
she  had  destroyed  all  those  who  had  taken 
any  part  in  effecting  the  destruction  of  Silius. 
They  began  to  be  greatly  alarmed  therefore 
for  their  own  safety.  In  the  mean  time  mes- 
sages came  in  from  Messalina,  who,  when  the 
emperor  entered  the  city,  had  retm-ned  to  her 


100  Neeq.  [A.D.  48. 

Messalina's  letter.  Claudius  relents.  Alarm  of  Narcissus. 

former  place  of  refuge  in  the  gardens  of  Ln- 
cuUus.  At  length  a  letter,  or  memorial, 
came.  On  reading  what  was  written  it  was 
found  that  Messalina  was  assuming  a  bolder 
tone.  Her  letter  was  a  remonstrance  rather 
than  a  petition,  as  if  she  were  designing  to  try 
the  eifect  of  bravery  and  assurance,  and  to 
see  if  she  could  not  openh''  reassume  the  as- 
cendency and  control  which  she  had  long  ex- 
ercised over  the  mind  of  her  husband.  Clau- 
dius seemed  inclined  to  hesitate  and  waver. 
His  anger  appeared  to  be  subsiding  with  his 
fears,  and  the  wine  whicli  he  drank  freely  at 
the  table  seemed  to  conspire  with  the  other 
influences  of  the  occasion  to  restore  his  wonted 
good-humor.  He  ordered  that  in  reply  to 
Messalina's  letter  a  messenger  should  go  and 
inform  her  that  she  should  be  admitted  the 
next  day  to  see  him  and  to  make  her  defense. 
Karcissus  and  his  confederates  were  greatly 
alarmed,  and  determined  immediately  that 
this  must  not  be.  Narcissus  had  been  placed, 
it  would  seem,  according  to  the  wish  of  the 
conspirators  at  the  outset,  in  command  of  the 
guard  ;  and  he  accordingly  had  power  to  pre- 
vent the  emperor's  determination  from  being 
carried  into  effect,  provided  that  he  should 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  OF  Messalina.  101 

Narcissus  orders  Rlessalina  to  be  slain. 

dare  to  take  the  responsibility  of  acting.  It 
was  a  moment  of  great  anxiety  and  suspense. 
He  soon,  however,  came  strongly  to  the  con- 
clusion that  though  it  would  be  very  danger- 
ous for  him  to  act,  yet  that  not  to  act  would  be 
certain  destruction ;  since  if  Messalina  were 
allowed  to  live  it  would  be  absolutely  certain 
that  they  all  must  die.  Accordingly,  sum- 
moning all  his  resolution  he  hurried  out  of 
the  banqueting  room,  and  gave  orders  to  the 
officers  on  duty  there,  in  the  emperor's  name, 
to  proceed  to  the  gardens  of  Lucullus  and  ex- 
ecute sentence  of  death  on  Messalina  without 
any  delay. 

Messalina  was  with  her  mother  Lepida,  in 
the  gardens,  awaiting  her  answer  from  the 
emperor,  when  the  band  of  soldiers  came. 
Messalina  and  her  mother  had  never  been 
agreed,  and  now  for  a  long  time  had  had  no 
intercourse  with  each  other.  The  daughter's 
danger  had,  however,  reawakened  the  instinct 
of  maternal  love  in  the  mother's  heart,  and 
Lepida  had  come  to  see  her  child  in  this  the 
hour  of  her  extremity.  She  came,  however, 
not  to  console  or  comfort  her  child,  or  to  aid 
her  in  her  efforts  to  save  her  life,  but  to  pro- 
vide her  with  the  means  of  putting  an  end  to 


102  Nero.  [A.D.  48. 

Interview  between  Messalina  and  her  mother  in  the  garden. 

her  own  existence  as  the  only  way  now  left 
to  her,  of  escape  from  the  greater  disgrace  of 
public  execution. 

She  accordingly  offered  a  poniard  to  Mes- 
salina in  the  gardens,  and  urged  her  to  take 
it.  "  Death  by  your  own  hand,"  said  she,  "  is 
now  your  only  refuge.  You  must  die ;  it  is 
impossible  that  this  tragedy  can  have  any 
other  termination ;  and  to  wait  quietly  here 
for  the  stroke  of  the  executioner  Is  base  and 
ignoble.  You  must  die  / — and  all  that  now 
remains  to  you  is  the  power  to  close  the  scene 
with  dignity  and  with  becoming  spirit." 

Messalina  manifested  the  greatest  agitation 
and  distress,  but  she  could  not  summon  reso- 
lution to  receive  the  poniard.  In  the  midst 
of  this  scene  the  band  of  soldiers  appeared, 
entering  the  garden.  The  mother  pressed 
the  poniard  upon  her  daughter,  saying,  "  Now 
is  the  time."  Messalina  took  the  weapon, 
and  pointed  it  toward  her  breast,  but  had  not 
firmness  enough  to  strike  it  home.  The  offi- 
cer approached  her  at  the  head  of  his  men, 
with  his  sword  drawn  in  his  hand.  Messa- 
lina, still  irresolute,  made  a  feeble  and  inef- 
fectual effort  to  give  herself  a  wound,  but 
failed  of  inflicting  it ;  and  then  the  officer, 


A.D.  48.]     Fate  OF  Messalina.  103 

Indifference  of  Claudius  in  respect  to  Messalina's  fate. 

who  had  by  this  time  advanced  to  the  spot 
where  she  was  standing,  put  an  end  to  her 
dreadful  mental  struggles  by  cutting  her 
down  and  killing  her  at  a  single  blow. 

"When  tidings  were  brought  back  to  Nar- 
cissus that  his  commands  had  been  obeyed, 
he  went  again  to  the  presence  of  Claudius, 
and  reported  to  him  simply  that  Messalina 
was  no  more.  He  made  no  explanations,  and 
thp-emperor  asked  for  none  ;  but  went  on  with 
his  supper  as  if  nothing  had  occurred,  and 
never  afterward  expressed  any  curiosity  or  in- 
terest in  respect  to  Messalina's  fate. 

As  soon  as  the  excitement  produced  by 
these  transactions  had  in  some  degree  sub- 
sided, various  plans  and  intrigues  were  com- 
menced for  providing  the  emperor  with  an- 
other wife.  There  were  many  competitors  for 
the  station,  all  of  whom  were  eager  to  occupy 
it ;  for,  though  Claudius  was  old,  imbecile, 
and  ugly,  still  he  was  the  emperor ;  and  all 
those  ladies  of  his  court  who  thought  that  they 
had  any  prospect  of  success,  aspired  to  the 
possession  of  his  hand,  as  the  summit  of  earth- 
ly ambition.  Among  the  rest,  Agrippina 
appeared.  She  was  Claudius's  niece.  This 
relationship  was  in  one  respect  a  bar  to  her 


104  ISTeko.  [A.D.  41. 

Claudius  marries  Agrippino.  Adoption  of  her  son. 

success,  since  the  laws  prohibited  marriage 
within  that  degree  of  consanguinity.  In  an- 
other respect,  however,  the  relationship  was 
greatly  in  Agrippina's  favor,  for  under  the 
plea  of  it  she  had  constant  access  to  the  em- 
peror, and  was  extremely  assiduous  in  her  at- 
tentions to  him.  She  succeeded,  at  length,  in 
inspiring  him  with  some  sentiment  of  love,  and 
he  determined  to  make  her  his  wife.  The 
Senate  were  easily  induced  to  alter  the  laws 
in  order  to  enable  him  to  do  this,  and  Claudius 
and  Agrippina  were  married. 

Claudius  not  only  thus  made  the  mother  of 
our  hero  his  wife,  but  he  adopted  her  son  as 
his  son  and  heir — changing,  at  the  same  time, 
the  name  of  the  boy.  In  place  of  his  former 
plebeian  appellation  of  Ahenobarbus,  he  gave 
him  now  the  imposing  title  of  Nero  Claudius 
Caesar  Drusus  Germanicus.  He  has  since  gen- 
erally been  known  in  history,  however,  by  the 
simple  prenomen,  Nero. 


A.D.  39.]     Childhood  OF  Neko.  105 

Early  history  of  Nero.  Character  of  his  father. 


ChaptebY. 
The   Childhood  of  Neko. 

URING  the  time  that  Agrippina  had 
been  jiassing  through  the  strange  and 
eventful  vicissitudes  of  her  histoiy,  described 
in  tile  2:)receding  chapters,  young  Nero  him- 
self, as  we  shall  henceforth  call  him,  had 
been  growing  uj)  an  active  and  intelligent, 
but  an  indulged  and  ungoverned  boy.  His 
own  father  died  when  he  was  about  three 
years  old.  This,  however,  was  an  advantage 
probably,  rather  than  a  loss  to  the  boy,  as 
Brazenbeard  was  an  extremely  coarse,  cruel, 
and  unprincipled  man.  He  once  killed  one 
of  his  slaves  for  not  drinking  as  much  as  he 
ordered  him.  Riding  one  day  in  his  chariot 
through  a  village,  he  drove  wantonly  and 
purposely  over  a  boy,  and  killed  him  on  the 
spot.  He  defrauded  all  who  dealt  with  him, 
and  was  repeatedly  prosecuted  for  the  worst 
of  crimes.  He  treated  his  wife  with  great 
brutality.  As  has  already  been  said,  he  re- 
ceived the  announcement  of  the  birth  of  his 


106  Neko.  [A.D.  39. 

Brutal  character  of  Brozenbeard.  Nero  neglected. 

son  with  derision,  saying  that  nothing  but 
what  was  detestable  could  come  from  him  and 
Agrippina ;  and  when  they  asked  him  what 
name  they  should  give  the  child,  he  recom- 
mended to  them  to  name  him  Claudius.  This 
was  said  in  contempt,  for  Claudius  was  at  that 
time  despised  by  every  one,  as  a  deformed 
and  stupid  idiot,  though  he  was  subsequently 
made  emperor  in  the  manner  that  has  been 
already  explained.  The  manifestation  of  such 
a  spirit,  at  such  a  time,  on  the  part  of  her 
husband,  pained  Agrippina  exceedingly, — 
but  the  more  it  pained  her,  the  more  Brazen- 
beard  was  gratified  and  amused.  The  death 
of  such  a  father  could,  of  course,  be  no  ca- 
lamity. 

When  Agrippina,  Nero's  mother,  was  ban- 
ished from  Rome  by  the  cflrder  of  Caligula, 
Nero  himself  did  not  accompany  her,  but  re- 
mained behind  under  the  care  of  his  aunt 
Lepida,  with  whom  he  lived  for  a  time  in 
comparative  neglect  and  obscurity.  Though 
he  belonged  to  one  of  the  most  aristocratic 
families  of  Rome,  his  mother  being  a  descen- 
dant and  heir  of  the  Caesars,  he  spent  some 
years  in  a  situation  of  poverty  and  disgrace. 
His  education  was  neglected,  as  he  received 


A.D.  41.]     Childhood  OF  Neko.  107 


Nero  reappears  at  court. 


no  instruction  at  this  time  except  from  a 
dancing-master  and  a  barber,  who  were  his 
only  tutors.  Of  course,  the  formation  of  his 
moral  character  was  wholly  neglected, — nor, 
in  fact,  considering  the  character  of  those  by 
whom  he  was  surrounded,  would  it  have  been 
possible  that  any  favorable  influence  should 
have  been  exerted  upon  him,  if  the.  attempt 
had  been  made.  » 

Af  length  when  Caligul^iNvdied  and  Agrip- 
pina  was  recalled  from  her  banishment  by 
Claudius,  and  reinstated  in  her  former  position 
at  Rome,  Nero  emerged  from  his  obscurity, 
and  thenceforth  lived  with  his  mothel*  in  lux- 
ury and  splendor  in  the  capital,  l^ero  was  a 
handsome  boy,  and  he  soon  became  an  object 
of  great  popular  favor  and  regard.  He  often 
aj)peared  in  public  at  entertainments  and 
celebrations,  and  when  he  did  so  he  was 
always  specially  noticed  and  caressed.  His 
companion,  and  in  some  respects  his  rival  and 
competitor,  at  such  times,  was  Britannicus, 
the  son  of  Claudius  and  Messalina.  Britan- 
nicus was  two  or  three  years  younger  than 
Nero,  and  being  the  son  of  the  emperor  was 
of  course  a  very  prominent  and  conspicuous 
object  of  attention  whenever  he   appeared. 


108  Nero.  [A.D.45. 

The  secular  or  centennial  games. 

But  the  rank  of  Nero  was  scarcely  less  high, 
since  his  mother  was  descended  directly  from 
the  imperial  family,  while  in  age  and  personal 
appearance  and  bearing  he  was  superior  to 
his  cousin. 

One  instance  is  specially  noticed  by  the  his- 
torians of  those  days,  in  which  young  Nero 
was  honored  with  an  extraordinary  degree  of 
public  attention  and  regard.  It  was  on  the  oc- 
casion of  celebrating  what  might  be  called  the 
centennial  games.  These  games  were  gene- 
rally supposed  to  be  celebrated  at  each  recur- 
rence of  a  certain  astronomical  period,  of 
about  one  hundred  years'  duration,  called  an 
age  ;  but  in  reality  it  was  at  irregular  though 
very  distant  intervals  that  they  were  observed. 
Claudius  instituted  a  celebration  of  them  early 
in  his  reign.  There  had  been  a  celebration 
of  them  in  the  reign  of  Augustus,  not  many 
years  before, — but  Claudius,  wishing  to  sig- 
nalize his  own  reign  by  some  great  entertain- 
ment and  display,  pretended  that  Augustus 
had  made  a  miscalculation,  and  had  observed 
the  festival  at  the  wrong  time  ;  and  he  ordain- 
ed, accordingly,  that  the  celebration  should 
take  place  again. 

The  games  and  shows  connected  with  this 


A.D. 45.]     Childhood  of  Nebo.  109 

Mode  of  celebrating  them.  Nero  and  Britannicus. 

festival  extended  through  three  successive 
days.  They  consisted  of  sacrifices  and  other 
religious  rites,  dramatic  spectacles,  athletic 
games,  and  military  and  gladiatorial  shows. 
In  the  course  of  these  diversions  there  was 
celej)rated  on  one  of  the  days  what  was  called 
the  Trojan  game,  in  which  young  boys  of  lead- 
ing an^distinguished  families  appeared  on 
horseback  in  a  circus  or  ring,  where  they  per- 
formed certain  evolutions  and  feats  of  horse- 
manship, and  mock  conflicts,  in  the  midst  of 
the  tens  of  thousands  of  spectators  who  throng- 
ed the  seats  around.  Of  course  Britannicus 
and  I^ero  were  the  most  prominent  and  con- 
spicuous of  the  boys  on  this  occasion.  Nero, 
however,  in  the  estimation  of  the  populace, 
bore  off)  the  palm.  He  was  received  with  the 
loudest  acclamations  by  the  whole  assembly, 
while  Britannicus  attracted  far  less  attention. 
This  triumph  filled  Agrippina's  heart  with 
pride  and  pleasure,  while  it  occasioned  to 
JVIessalina  the  greatest  vexation  and  chagrin. 
It  made  Agrippina  more  than  ever  before  the 
object  of  Messalina's  hatred  and  hostility,  and 
the  empress  would  very  probably  before  long 
have  found  some  means  of  destroying  her 
rival  had  she  not  soon  after  this  become  in- 


no  Nero.  [A.D.  45. 

Nero  applauded.  The  story  of  the  serpents. 

volved  herself  in  the  difficulties  arising  out  of 
her  connection  with  Silius,  which  resulted  so 
soon  in  her  own  destruction. 

The  people,  however,  were  filled  with  ad- 
miration of  Nero,  and  they  applauded  his  per- 
formance with  the  utmost  enthusiasm.  He 
was  for  a  time  a  subject  of  conversation  in 
every  circle  throughout  the  city,  and  many 
tales  were  told  of  his  history  and  his  doings* 
Among  other  things  which  were  related  of 
him,  the  story  was  circulated  that  Messalina 
became  so  excited  against  him  in  her  jealousy 
and  envy,  that  she  sent  two  assassins  to  mur- 
der him  in  his  sleep ;  and  that  the  assassins, 
coming  to  him  in  a  garden  where  he  was 
lying  asleep  upon  a  pillow,  were  just  putting 
their  cruel  orders  into  execution  when  they 
were  driven  away  by  a  serpent  that  appeared 
miraculously  at  the  moment  to  defend  the 
child — darting  out  at  the  assassins  from  be- 
neath the  pillow.  Others  said  that  it  was  in 
his  infancy  that  this  occurrence  took  place, 
and  that  there  were  two  serpents  instead  of 
one,  and  that  they  guarded  the  life  of  their 
charge  lying  with  him  in  his  cradle.  One  of 
the  historians  of  the  time  states  that  neither 
of  these  stories  was  really  true,  but  that  they 


A.D.  49.]     Childhood  OF  Neeo.  Ill 

Advancement  of  Nero  after  the  death  of  Messalina. 

both  originated  in  the  fact  that  Nero  was  ac- 
customed to  wear,  when  a  boy,  a  bracelet 
made  of  a  serj^ent's  skin,  small  and  of  beauti- 
ful colors, — and  fastened,  as  they  said,  around 
the  wearer's  wrist  with  a  clasp  of  gold. 

However  the  fact  may  be  in  respect  to  Mes- 
salina's  allowing  her  jealousy  of  Agrippina 
to  carry  her  so  far  as  to  make  direct  attempts 
upon  his  life,  there  is  no  doubt  that  she  lived 
in  continual  fear  of  the  influence  both  of  Nero 
and  of  his  mother,  on  the  mind  of  the  em- 
peror ;  and  Agrippina  was  consequently  com- 
pelled to  submit  to  many  indignities  which 
the  position  and  the  power  of  Messalina  ena- 
bled her  to  impose  upon  her  euemies  and  ri- 
vals. At  length,  however,  the  fall  of  Messa- 
lina, and  the  entire  revolution  in  the  situation 
and  prosj)ects  of  Agrippina  which  was  conse- 
quent upon  it,  changed  altogether  the  position 
of  Nero.  It  might  have  been  expected,  it  is 
true,  even  after  the  maxTiage  of  Claudius  with 
Agrippina,  that  Britannicus  would  have  still 
maintained  altogether  the  highest  place  in 
the  emperor's  regard,  since  Britannicus  was 
Iws  own  son,  while  Nero  was  only  the  son  of 
his  wife.  But  Agrippina  was  artful  enough 
to  manage  her  indolent  and  stupid  husband 


112  Kero.  [A.D.  51. 

Agrippina's  treatment  of  Brilannicus. 

just  as  she  pleased ;  and  she  soon  found 
means  to  displace  Britannicus,  and  to  raise 
Nero  in  his  stead, ,  to  the  highest  place,  in 
precedence  and  honor.  She  persuaded  Clau- 
dius to  adopt  Nero  as  his  own  son,  as  was 
stated  in  the  last  chapter.  She  obtained  a 
decree  of  the  Senate,  approving  and  confirm- 
ing this  act.  She  then  removed  Britannicus 
from  the  court  and  shut  him  up  in  seclusion, 
in  a  nursery,  under  pretense  of  tender  regard 
for  his  health  and  safety,  l^i  a  word,  she 
treated  Britannicus  in  all  respects  like  a  little 
child,  and  kej^t  him  wholly  in  the  back- 
ground ;  while  she  brought  her  own  son, 
though  he  was  but  little  older  than  the  other, 
very  prominently  forward,  as  a  young  man. 

In  those  ancient  days  as  now,  there  was 
an  appropriate  dress  for  youth,  which  was 
changed  for  that  of  a  man  when  the  subject 
arrived  at  maturity.  The  garment  which  was 
most  distinctively  characteristic  of  adult  age 
among  the  Romans  was  called  the  toga ;  and 
it  was  assumed  by  the  Roman  youth,  not  as 
the  dress  of  a  man  is  by  young  persons  now, 
in  a  private  and  informal  manner,  according 
as  the  convenience  or  fancy  of  the  individual 
may  dictate, — but  publicly  and   with   much 


A.D.  51.]     Childhood  of  Kero.  113 

Neru  a!>3uriius  llie  toija.  Britaiinicus  secluded. 


ceremony,  and  alwaj^s  at  the  time  when  the 
party  arrived  at  the  period  of  legal  majority  ; 
so  that  assuming  the  toga  marked  always  a 
very  important  era  of  life.  This  distinction 
Agrippina  caused  to  be  conferred  upon  Nero 
by  a  special  edict  when  he  was  only  fourteen 
years  of  age,  which  was  at  a  very  much  ear- 
lier pei'iod  than  usual.  On  the  occasion  of 
thusr^advancing  him  to  the  dress  and  to  the 
legal  capabilities  of  manhood,  Agrippina 
brought  him  out  in  a  special  manner  before 
the  people  of  Rome  at  a  great  public  celebra- 
tion, and  the  more  eifectually  to  call  public 
attention  to  him  as  a  young  prince  of  the 
highest  distinction  in  the  imperial  family,  she 
induced  Claudius  to  bestow  a  largess  upon 
the  people,  and  a  donative  upon  the  army, 
that  is  a  public  distribution  of  money,  to  the 
citizens  and  to  the  soldiers,  in  IS^ ero's  name. 

All  this  time  Britannicus  was  kept  shut  up 
in  the  private  apartments  of  the  palace  with 
nurses  and  children.  The  tutors  and  attend- 
ants whom  Messalina  his  mother  provided  for 
him  were  one  by  one  removed,  and  their 
places  supplied  by  others  whom  Agrippina 
selected  for  the  purpose,  and  whom  she  could 
rely  upon  to  second  her  views.  When  in- 
H 


114  Nero.  [A.D.  51. 

Agrippina's  treatment  of  the  two  boya. 


quired  of  in  respect  to  Britannicus  by  those 
who  had  known  him  before,  during  his  moth- 
er's lifetime,  she  replied  that  he  was  a  weak 
and  feeble  child,  subject  to  fits,  and  thus  ne- 
cessarily kept  secluded  from  society. 

Sometimes,  indeed,  on  great  public  occa- 
sions, both  Nero  and  Britannicus  appeared 
together,  but  even  in  these  cases  the  arrange- 
ments were  so  made  as  to  impress  the  public 
mind  more  forcibly  than  ever  with  an  idea 
of  the  vast  superiority  of  Nero,  in  respect  to 
rank  and  position.  On  one  such  occasion, 
while  Britannicus  was  carried  about  clothed 
in  the  dress  of  a  child,  and  with  attendants 
characteristic  of  the  nursery,  Nero  rode  on 
horseback,  richly  appareled  in  the  triumphal 
robes  of  a  general  returning  from  a  foreign 
campaign. 

Agrippina  was  one  day  made  very  angry 
with  Britannicus,  for  what  might  seem  a  very 
trifling  cause.  It  seems  that  Britannicus, 
though  young,  was  a  very  intelligent  boy, 
and  that  he  understood  perfectly  tlie  policy 
which  his  step-mother  was  pursuing  toward 
him,  and  was  very  unwilling  to  submit  to  be 
thus  supplanted.  One  day,  when  he  and 
Nero  were  both  abroad,  attending  some  pub- 


A.D.  51.]     Childhood  of  JSTero.  115 

Britaonicus  offends  Nero.  Agrippina's  anger. 

lie  spectacle  or  celebration,  they  met,  and 
Nero  accosted  his  cousin,  calling  him  Britan- 
nicus.  Britannicus,  in  returning  the  saluta- 
tion, addressed  Nero  familiarly  by  the  name  Do- 
mitius ; — Domitius  Ahenobarbus  having  been 
his  name  beforo  he  was  adopted  by  Claudius. 
Agrippina  was  very  indignant  when  she  heard 
of  thi^.  She  considered  the  using  of  this 
name  by  Britannicus,  as  denoting,  on  his 
part,  a  refusal  to  acknowledge  his  cousin  as 
the  adopted  son  of  his  father.  She  imme- 
diately went  to  Claudius  with  earnest  and 
angryxomplainings,  "  Tour  own  edict,"  said 
she,  "  sanctioned  and  confirmed  by  the  Sen- 
ate, is  disavowed  and  annulled,  and  my  son 
is  subjected  to  public  insult  by  the  imperti- 
nence of  this  child."  Agrippina  farther  rep- 
resented to  Claudius,  that  Britannicus  never 
would  have  thought  of  addressing  her  son  in 
such  a  manner,  of  his  own  accord.  His  doing 
it  must  have  arisen  from  the  influence  of 
some  of  the  persons  around  him  who  were 
hostile  to  her;  and  she  made  use  of  the  occa- 
sion to  induce  Claudius  to  give  her  authority 
to  remove  all  that  remained  of  the  child's 
instructors  and  governors,  who  ^ould  be  sus- 
pected of  a  friendly  interest  in  his  cause,  and 


116  Wero.  [A.D.  51. 

The  Fncine  lako.  Plan  for  draining  it.  The  canal. 

to   subject  him  to  new  and   more   rigorous 
restrictions  than  ever. 

One  of  the  most  imposing  of  all  the  spec- 
tacles and  celebrations  which  Claudius  insti- 
tuted during  his  reign,  was  the  one  which 
signalized  the  opening  of  the  canal  bj  which 
the  Fucine  lake  was  drained.  The  Fucine 
lake  was  a  large  but  shallow  body  of  water, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Appenines,  near  the  sources 
of  the  Tiber.*  It  was  subject  to  periodic  in- 
undations, by  which  the  surrounding  lands 
were  submerged.  An  engineer  had  offered 
to  drain  the  lake,  in  consideration  of  receiv- 
ing for  his  pay  the  lands  which  would  be  laid 
dry  by  the  operation.  But  Claudius,  wlio 
seemed  to  have  quite  a  taste  for  such  under- 
takings, preferred  to  accomplish  the  work 
himself.  The  canal  by  which  the  water 
sliould  be  conveyed  away,  was  to  be  formed 
in  part  by  a  deep  cut,  and  partly  by  a  tunnel 
through  a  mountain ;  arid  inasmuch  as  in 
those  daj^s  the  power  now  chiefly  relied  upon 
for  making  such  excavations,  namely,  the  ex- 
plosive force  of  gunpowder,  was  not  known, 
any  extensive  working  in  solid  rock  was  an 
operation  of  immense  labor.     When  the  canal 

*  See  Map.     Frontispiece. 


A.D.  52,]     Childhood  OF  Neko.  117 

Grand  celebration  at  the  opening  of  the  canal. 

was  finished,  Claudius  determined  to  institute 
a  grand  celebration  to  signalize  the  opening 
of  it  for  drawing  off  the  water ;  and  as  he 
could  not  safely  rely  on  the  hydraulic  interest 
of  the  spectacle  for  drawing  such  a  concourse 
to  the  spot  as  he  wished  to  see  there,  he  con- 
cluded to  add  to  the  entertainment  a  show 
more-,Buited  to  the  taste  and  habits  of  the 
times.  He  made  arrangements  accordingly 
for  having  a  naval  battle  fought  upon  the  lake, 
for  the  amusement  of  the  spectators,  just  be- 
fore the  opening  of  the  canal,  which  was  to 
draw  off  the  water.  Thus  the  battle  was  to  be 
the  closing  scene,  in  which  the  history  and 
existence  of  the  lake  were  to  be  terminated 
forever. 

Ships  were  accordingly  built,  and  an  im- 
mense number  of  men  w(Te  designated  and 
set  apart  for  fighting  the  battle.  These  men 
consisted  of  convicts  and  prisoners  of  war — 
men  whom  it  was,  in  those  days,  considered 
perfectly  just  and  right  to  employ  in  killing 
one  another  for  the  amusement  of  the  empe- 
ror and  his  guests.  A  sort  of  bulwark  was 
built  all  around  the  shore,  and  the  emperor's 
guards  were  stationed  upon  it,  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  the  combatants,  and  to  turn  them 


118  Neko.  [A.D.  ')2. 

Naval  conflict  to  take  pl;ice  on  the  lake. 

back  to  their  duty  if  any  of  them  should  at- 
tempt, when  pressed  hard  in  the  battle,  to 
escape  to  the  land.  The  fleet  of  galleys  was 
divided  into  two  antagonistic  portions,  and 
the  men  in  each  were  armed  completely,  as 
in  a  case  of  actual  war.  At  the  appointed 
time,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  assem- 
bled from  all  the  surrounding  country  to  see 
the  sight.  They  lined  the  shores  on  every 
side,  and  crowned  all  the  neighboring  heights. 
The  contest,  of  coui*se,  might  be  waged  with 
all  the  fury  and  fatal  effect  of  a  real  battle 
without  endangering  the  spectators  at  all,  as 
there  were  in  those  days  no  flying  bullets,  or 
other  swift-wdnged  missiles,  like  those  "vthich 
in  modern  times  take  so  wide  a  range  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  battle.  The  deadly  effect  of 
all  that  was  done  in  an  ancient  combat  was 
confined  of  course  to  those  immediately  en- 
gaged. Then  there  was,  besides,  nothing  to 
intercept  the  vision.  No  smoke  was  raised  to 
obscure  the  view,  but  the  atmosphere  above 
and  around  the  combatants  remained  as  pure 
and  transparent  at  the  end  of  the  combat  as 
at  the  beginning. 

A  real  battle  was  accordingly  regarded  by 
the  Romans  as  the  most  sublime  and  imposing 


A.D.  53.]     Child  noon  of  Nero.  119 

End  of  the  naval  batlle.  The  water  will  not  flow. 

of  spectacles,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
spectators  flocked  to  witness  the  one  which 
Chiudius  arranged  for  them  on  the  Fucine 
lake.  He  himself  presided,  dressed  in  a  coat 
of  mail ;  and  Agrippina  sat  by  his  side,  cloth- 
ed in  a  magnificent  robe,  which  the  historian 
states  was  woven  from  threads  of  gold,  with- 
out the  admixture  of  any  other  material. 
The  signal  was  given,  and  the  battle  was 
commenced.  There  was  some  difficulty  ex 
perienced,  as  usual  in  such  cases,  in  getting 
the  men  to  engage,  but  they  became  sufficient- 
ly ferocious  at  last  to  satisfy  all  the  spectators, 
and  thousands  were  slain.  At  length  the  em- 
peror gave  orders  that  the  battle  should  cease, 
and  the  survivors  were  informed  that  their 
lives  were  spared. 

It  was  fortunate,  on  the  whole,  for  Claudius, 
that  he  did  not  rely  wholly  on  the  simple 
drawing  off  of  the  water  from  the  lake  for  the 
amusement  of  the  immense  assemblage  that 
he  had  convened,  for  it  was  found,  when, 
after  the  close  of  the  battle,  the  canal  was 
opened,  that  the  water  would  not  run.  The 
engineers  had  made  some  mistake  in  their 
measurements  or  their  calculations,  and  had 
left  the  bed  of  the  canal  in  some  part  of  its 


120  l^ERO.  [A.D.  52. 

Deepening  the  canal.  New  celebratioiia. 

course  too  high,  so  that  the  water,  when  the 
sluices  were  opened,  instead  of  flowing  off  into 
the  river  to  which  the  canal  was  intended  to 
conduct  it,  remained  quietly  in  the  lake  as 
before. 

The  assembly  dispersed,  and  the  work  on 
the  canal  was  resumed  with  a  view  of  making 
it  deeper.  In  the  course  of  a  year  the  exca- 
vation was  completed,  and  all  was  made 
ready  for  a  new  trial.  Claudius  summoned  a 
new  assembly  to  witness  the  operation,  and  at 
this  time,  instead  of  a  naval  conflict,  he  made 
provision  for  a  great  combat  of  gladiators,  to 
be  fought  on  immense  floating  platforms 
which  were  built  upon  the  lake  near  the  out- 
let which  the  engineers  had  made.  In  the 
end,  however,  the  second  attempt  to  make  the 
water  flow,  proved  more  unfortunate  than  the 
first.  The  channel  had  been  made  very  deep 
and  wide,  so  that  the  water  was  inclined  to 
move,  when  once  put  in  motion,  with  the  ut- 
most impetuosity  and  force  ;  and  it  so  hap- 
pened, that  in  some  way  or  other,  the  means 
which  the  engineer  had  relied  upon  for  con- 
trolling it  were  insufficient,  and  wlicn  the 
gates  were  opened  every  thing  suddenly  gave 
way.     The  water  rushed  out  in  an  overwhelm- 


A.D.  52.]     CiiiLnirooD  of  Nero.  121 

Influences  under  which  Nero's  character  was  formed. 

ing  torrent,  as  in  an  inundation — and  under- 
mined and  carried  away  the  platforms  and 
stagings  which  had  been  erected  for  the  seats 
of  the  spectators.  A  scene  of  indescribable 
tumult  and  confusion  ensued.  The  emperor 
and  empress,  with  the  guests  and  spectators, 
fled  precipitously  together,  and  all  narrowly 
escaped  being  carried  down  into  the  canal. 

It  is  by  no  means  difficult  to  imagine  what 
sort  of~a  character  a  boy  must  necessarily 
form,  brought  up  under  such  influences  and 
surrounded  by  such  scenes  as  those  which 
thus  prevailed  at  the  court  of  Claudius.  It 
proved  in  the  end  that  Nero  experienced  the 
full  efiect  of  them.  He  became  proud,  vain, 
self-willed,  cruel,  and  accustomed  to  yield 
himself  without  restraint  to  all  those  wicked 
propensities  and  passions  which,  under  such 
circumstances,  always  gain  dominion  over  the 
human  soul. 

Besides  Britannicus,  it  will  be  recollected 
that  Messalina  had  left  another  child, — a 
daughter  named  Octavia,  who  was  two  or 
three  y^ars  younger  than  her  brother,  and  of 
course  about  five  years  younger  than  Nero. 
Agrippina  did  not  2:)ursue  the  same  course  of 


122  Nero.  [A.D.  52. 

Agrippina's  plan  in  respect  to  Octavia. 

opposition  and  hostility  toward  her  which  she 
had  adopted  in  regard  to  Britannicus.  She 
determined,  at  the  outset,  upon  a  very  differ- 
ent plan.  Britannicus  was  necessarily  a  rival 
and  competitor  for  Nero  ;  and  every  step  in 
advance  which  he  should  make,  could  not 
operate  otherwise  than  as  an  impediment  and 
obstacle  to  Nero's  success.  But  Octavia,  as 
Agrippina  thought,  might  be  employed  to 
further  and  aid  her  designs,  by  being  betroth- 
ed, and  in  due  time  married,  to  her  son. 

The  advantages  of  such  a  scheme  were  very 
obvious, — so  obvious  in  fact  that  the  design 
was  formed  by  Agrippina  at  the  very  begin- 
ning,— even  before  her  own  marriage  with 
the  emperor  was  fully  effected.  There  was 
one  serious  obstacle  in  the  way,  and  that  was 
that  Octavia  was  already  betrothed  to  a  very 
distinguished  yoimg  nobleman  named  Lucius 
Silanus.  Agrippina,  after  having,  by  various 
skillful  manoeuvei"s,  succeeded  in  enlisting  the 
public  officers  who  would  act  as  judges  in  his 
case,  caused  Silanus  to  be  accused  of  infa- 
mous crimes.  The  histoi-ians  say  that  the 
evidence  which  was  adduced  against  him  was 
of  the  most  trivial  character.  Still  he  was 
condemned.     He  seems  to  have  understood 


A.D.  53.]     Childhood  OF  Nero.  123 

Tragical  end  of  Silanus.  Marriage  of  Nero. 

the  nature  and  the  cause  of  the  hostility  which 
had  suddenly  developed  itself  against  him, 
and  to  have  felt  at  once  all  the  hopelessness 
of  his  condition.  He  killed  himself  in  his 
despair  on  the  very  night  of  the  marriage  of 
Claudius  with  Agrippina. 

The  empress  found  afterward  no  serious 
difficulty  in  accomplishing  her  design.  She 
obtained  the  emperor's  consent  to  a  betrothal 
of  JS^ero  to  Octavia ;  but  as  they  were  yet  too 
young  to  be  married,  the  ceremony  was  post- 
poned for  a  short  time.  At  length  in  about 
five  years  after  the  marriage  of  Agrippina 
herself,  Nero  and  Octavia  were  married. 
JSTero  was  at  that  time  about  sixteen  years  of 
age.     His  bride  of  course  was  only  eleven. 


124  Nero.  [A.D.  54. 

Claudius  ia  sick.  Agrippina'a  joy.  Her  schemes. 


ChapterYI. 
Nero    an    Emperor. 

A  BOUT  one  year  after  Nero's  marriage  to 
-^^  Octavia  the  emperor  Claudius  was  sud- 
denly taken  sick.  On  learning  this,  Agrip- 
pina  was  very  much  excited  and  very  nmch 
pleased.  If  the  sickness  should  result  in  the 
emperor's  death,  her  son  she  thought  would 
immediately  succeed  him.  Every  thing  had 
been  long  since  fully  arranged  for  such  a  re- 
sult, and  all  was  now  ready,  she  imagined, 
for  the  change. 

It  is  true  that  JSTero  was  still  very  young, 
but  then  he  was  uncommonly  mature  both  in 
mind  and  in  person,  for  one  of  his  years  ;  and 
the  people  had  been  accustomed  for  some 
time  to  look  upon  him  as  a  man.  Among 
other  means  which  Agrippina  had  resorted  to 
for  giving  an  appearance  of  manliness  and 
maturity  to  the  character  of  her  son,  she  had 
brought  him  forward  in  the  Roman  Forum  as 
a  public  advocate,  and  he  had  made  orations 
there  in  several  instances,  with  great  success. 


A.D.  54.]     Nero  an  Emperoe.  1^^5 

Estimation  in  which  Nero  was  held. 

He  had  been  well  instructed  in  those  studies 
which  were  connected  with  the  art  of  oratory, 
and  as  his  person  and  manners  were  agi-eea- 
ble,  and  his  countenance  intelligent  and  pre- 
possessing, and  especially  as  the  confidence 
which  he  felt  in  his  powers  gave  him  an  air 
of  great  self-possession  and  composure,  the 
impression  which  he  made  was  very  favora,- 
ble.  The  people  were  in  fact  predisposed  to 
be  pleased  with  and  to  applaud  the  efforts  of 
a  young  orator  so  illustrious  in  rank  and  sta- 
tion— and  the  ability  which  he  displayed,  al- 
though he  was  so  young,  was  such  as  to  jus- 
tify, unquestionably,  in  some  degree,  the  hon- 
ors that  they  paid  him, 

Agrippina,  therefore,  supposing  that  her 
son  was  now  far  enough  advanced  in  public 
consideration  to  make  it  in  some  degree  cer- 
tain that  he  would  be  the  emperor's  successor, 
was  ready  at  any  time  for  her  husband  to  die. 
His  sickness  therefore  filled  her  mind  with 
excitement  and  hope.  There  was  another 
motive  too,  besides  her  ambitious  desires  for 
the  advancement  of  her  son,  that  made  her 
desirous  that  Claudius  should  not  live.  She 
had-  been  now  for  several  months  somewhat 
Bolicitous  and  anxious  about  her  own  safety. 


126  Nebo.  [A.D.  54. 

Agrippina  considers  herself  in  clanger. 

Her  influence  over  Claudius,  which  was  at 
first  so  absolute  and  supreme,  had  afterward 
greatly  declined,  and  within  a  few  months  she 
had  begun  to  fear  that  she  might  be  losing  it 
entirely.  In  fact  she  had  some  reason  for  be- 
lieving that  Claudius  regarded  her  with  con- 
cealed hostility  and  hate,  and  was  secretly 
revolving  plans  for  deposing  both  her  and  her 
son  from  the  high  ascendency  to  which  they 
had  raised  themselves,  and  for  bringing  back 
his  own  son  to  his  proper  prominence,  in 
Nero's  place.  Agrippina,  too,  in  the  midst 
of  her  ambitious  projects  and  plans,  led  a  life 
of  secret  vice  and  crime,  and  feeling  guilty 
and  self-condemned,  every  trivial  indication 
of  danger  excited  her  fears.  Some  one  in- 
formed her  that  Claudius  one  day  when 
si^eaking  of  a  woman  who  had  been  convicted 
of  ci'ime,  said  that  it  had  always  been  his 
misfortune  to  have  profligate  wives,  but  that_ 
he  always  brought  them  in  the  end  to  the 
punishment  that  they  deserved.  Agrippina 
was  greatly  terrified  at  this  report.  She  con- 
sidered it  a  warning  that  Claudius  was  medi- 
tating some  fatal  proceedings  in  respect  to 
her. 

AgripjDina  observed,  too,  as  she  thought, 


A.D.  54.]     Kero  AN  Emperok.  127 

Reasons  for  her  feurs.  Clauilius  and  Britonnicus. 

various  indications  that  Claudius  was  begin- 
ning to  repent  of  having  adopted  Nero  and 
thus  displaced  his  own  son  from  the  line  of 
inheritance  ;  and  that  he  was  secretly  intend- 
ing to  restore  Britannicus  to  his  true  position. 
He  treated  the  boy  with  greater  and  greater 
attention  every  day,  and  at  one  time,  after 
having  been  conversing  with  him  and  express- 
ing an  unusual  interest  in  his  health  and 
welfare,  he  ended  by  saying,  "  Go  on  improv- 
ing, my  son,  and  grow  up  as  fast  as  you  can 
to  be  a  man.  I  shall  be  able  to  give  a  good 
account  of  all  that  I  have  done  in  regard  to 
you  in  due  time.  Trust  to  me,  and  you  will 
find  that  all  will  come  out  right  in  the  end." 
At  another  time  he  told  Britannicus  that 
pretty  soon  he  should  give  him  the  toga^  and 
bring  him  forward  before  the  people  as  a 
man, — "and  then  at  last,"  said  he,  "the 
Romans  will  have  a  prince  that  is  genuine^ 

Agrippina  was  not  present,  it  is  true,  when 
these  things  were  said  and  done,  but  every 
thing  was  minutely  reported  to  her,  and  she 
was  filled  with  anxiety  and  alarm.  She  be- 
gan to  be  afraid  that  unless  something  should 
speedily  occur  to  enable  her  to  realize  her 
hopes  and  expectations,  they  would  end  in 


128  Neko.  [A.D.  5-1. 

She  forms  plans  for  hastening  her  husband's  death. 

notliing  but  bitter  and  cruel  disappointment 
after  all. 

Such  being  the  state  of  things,  Agrippina 
was  greatly  pleased  at  the  news,  when  she 
heard  that  her  husband  was  sick.  She  most 
earnestly  hoped  that  he  would  die,  and  im- 
mediately began  to  consider  what  she  could 
do  to  insure  or  to  hasten  such  a  result.  She 
thought  of  poison,  and  began  to  debate  the 
question  in  her  mind  whether  she  should  dare 
to  administer  it.  Then  if  she  were  to  decide 
to  give  her  husband  poison,  it  was  a  very 
serious  question  what  kind  of  poison  she 
should  employ.  If  she  were  to  administer  one 
that  was  sudden  and  violent  in  its  operation, 
the  effect  which  it  would  produce  miglit 
attract  attention,  and  her  crime  be  discovered. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  she  were  to  choose  one 
that  was  more  moderate  and  gradual  in  its 
power,  so  as  to  produce  a  slow  and  lingering 
death,  time  would  be  allowed  for  Claudius  to 
carry  into  effect  any  secret  designs  that  he 
might  be  forming  for  disavowing  !Nero  as  his 
Bon,  and  fixing  the  succession  upon  Britan- 
nicus  ;  and  Agrippina  well  knew  that  if  Clau- 
dius were  to  die,  leaving  things  in  such  a  state 
that  Britannicus   should    succeed    him,    the 


A.D.  54.]     Neko  AN  Emperok.  129 

Locusta.  Agrippina  determines  to  consult  hor. 

downfall  and  ruin  both  of  herself  and  her  son 
would  immediately  and  inevitably  follow. 

There  was  at  that  time  in  Rome  a  celebra- 
ted mistress  of  the  art  of  poisoning,  named 
Locusta.  She  was  in  prison,  having  been  con- 
demned to  death  for  her  crimes.  Though 
condemned  she  had  been  kept  back  from 
execution  by  the  influence  of  Agrippina,  on 
account  of  the  skill  which  she  possessed  in  her 
art,  arid  which  Agrippina  thought  it  possible 
that  she  might  have  occasion  at  some  time  to 
make  use  of.  This  Locusta  she  now  deter- 
mined to  consult.  She  accordingly  went  to 
her,  and  asked  her  if  she  did  not  know  of  any 
poison  which  would  immediately  take  effect 
upon  the  brain  and  mind,  so  as  to  incapacitate 
the  patient  at  once  from  all  mental  action, 
while  yet  it  should  be  gradual  and  slow  in  its 
operations  on  the  vital  functions  of  the  body. 
Locusta  answered  in  the  affirmative.  Such 
characters  were  always  prepared  to  furnish 
any  species  of  medicaments  that  their  custom- 
ers might  call  for.  She  compounded  a  potion 
which  she  said  possessed  the  properties  which 
Agrippina  required,  and  Agrippina,  receiving 
it  from  her  hands,  went  away. 

Agrippina  then  went  to  Halotus,  the  servant 


130  Nero.  [A.D.  54. 

Locusta's  poiBon  is  administered  to  Claudius. 

who  waited  upon  the  emperor  and  gave  him  his 
food, — and  contrived  some  means  to  induce  him 
to  administer  the  dose.  Halotus  was  the  em- 
peror's "  taster,"  as  it  was  termed  : — that  is,  it 
was  his  duty  to  taste  first,  himself,  every  ar- 
ticle of  food  or  drink  which  he  offered  to  his 
master,  for  the  express  purpose  of  making  it 
sure  that  nothing  was  poisoned.  It  is  obvious, 
however,  that  many  ways  might  be  devised 
for  evading  such  a  precaution  as  this,  and 
Halotus  and  Agrippina  arranged  it,  that  the 
poison,  in  this  case,  should  be  put  upon  a  dish 
of  mushrooms,  and  served  to  the  emperor  at 
his  supper.  The  taster  was  to  avoid,  by 
means  of  some  dextrous  management,  the 
taking  of  any  portion  of  the  fatal  ingredients 
himself.  The  plan  thus  arranged  was  put 
into  execution.  The  emperor  ate  the  mush- 
rooms, and  Agrippina  tremblingly  awaited 
the  result. 

She  was,  however,  disappointed  in  the  effect 
that  was  produced.  Whether  the  mixture  that 
Locusta  had  prepared  was  not  sufficiently 
powerful,  or  whether  Halotus  in  his  extreme 
anxiety  not  to  get  any  of  the  poisonous  ingre- 
dients himself  failed  to  administer  them  ef- 
fectually to  his  intended  victim,  the  emperor 


A.D.  54:.J     Nero  an  Emperor.  131 

The  poison  ineffectual.  A  new  plan.  The  feather. 

seemed  to  continue  afterward  much  as  he  had 
been  before, — still  sick,  but  without  any  new 
or  more  dangerous  symptoms.  Of  course, 
Agrippina  was  in  a  state  of  great  solicitude 
and  apprehension.  Having  incurred  the  ter- 
rible guilt  and  danger  necessarily  involved 
in  an  attempt  to  poison  her  husband,  she 
could  not  draw  back.  The  work  that  was 
begun-  must  be  carried  through  now,  she 
thought,  at  all  hazards,  to  its  termination ; 
and  she  immediately  set  herself  at  work  to 
devise  some  means  of  reaching  her  victim 
with  poison,  which  would  avoid  the  taster  al- 
together, and  thus  not  be  liable  to  any  inter- 
ference on  his  part,  dictated  either  by  his 
fidelity  to  his  master  or  his  fears  for  himself. 
She  went,  accordingly,  to  the  emperor's 
physician  and  found  means  to  enlist  him  in 
her  cause ;  and  a  plan  was  formed  between 
them  which  proved  effectual  in  accomplishing 
her  designs.  The  manner  in  which  they  con- 
trived it  was  this.  The  physician,  at  a  time 
when  the  emperor  was  lying  sick  and  in  dis- 
tress upon  his  couch,  came  to  him  and  pro- 
posed that  he  should  oj)en  his  mouth  and  al- 
low the  physician  to  touch  his  throat  with  the 
tip  of  a  feather,  to  promote  vomiting,  which 


132 


Nero. 


Poison  administered  by  the  physician. 


[A.D.  54. 


Claudius  dies. 


The  Poisoning  of  Claudius. 


he  said  he  thought  would  reheve  him.  The 
emperor  yielded  to  this  treatment,  and  the 
feather  was  applied.  It  had  previously  heen 
dipped  in  a  very  virulent  and  fatal  poison. 
The  poison  thus  administered  took  effect,  and 
Claudius,  after  passing  the  night  in  agony, 
died  early  in  the  morning. 

Of  course,  Agrippina,  when  her  hushand's 
dying  *struggles  were  over,  and  she  was  satis- 
fied that  life  was  extinct,  experienced  for  the 


B.C.  54.]     Neko  AN  Emperor.  133 

Agrippina  conceals  her  husband's  death. 

moment  a  feeling  of  gratification  and  relief. 
It  might  have  been  expected,  however,  that 
the  pangs  of  remorse,  after  the  deed  was  per- 
petrated, would  have  followed  very  hard  upon 
the  termination  of  her  suspense  and  anxiety. 
But  it  was  not  so.  Much  still  remained  to  be 
done,  and  Agrippina  was  fully  prepared  to 
meet  all  the  responsibiliti.es  of  the  crisis.  The 
death  of  her  husband  took  place  very  early  in 
the  morning,  the  poisoning  operations  having 
been  performed  in  the  night,  and  having  ac- 
complished their  final  efi'ect  about  the  break 
of  day.  Agrippina  immediately  perceived 
that  the  most  effectual  means  of  accomplish- 
ing the  end  which  she  had  in  view,  was  not 
to  allow  of  any  interval  to  elapse  between  the 
announcement  of  the  emperor's  death  and  the 
bringing  forward  of  her  son  for  induction  into 
ofiice  as  his  successor ;  since  during  such  an 
interval,  if  one  were  allowed,  the  Roman  peo- 
ple would,  of  course,  discuss  the  question, 
whether  Britannicus  or  Nero  should  succeed 
to  power,  and  a  strong  party  might  possibly 
organize  itself  to  enforce  the  claims  of  the 
former.  She  determined,  therefore,  to  con- 
ceal the  death  of  her  husBand  until  noon,  the 
hour  most  favorable  for  publicly  proclaiming 


134  Kero.  [A.D.  54. 

Agrippina's  measures.  Her  disimulation. 

any  great  event,  and  then  to  announce  the 
death  of  the  father  and  the  accession  of  the 
adopted  son  together. 

She  accordingly  took  prompt  and  decisive 
(measures  to  prevent  its  being  known  that  the 
'emperor  was  dead.  The  immediate  attend- 
ants at  his  bedside  could  not  indeed  be  easily 
deceived,  bat  they  were  required  to  be  silent 
in  respect  to  what  had  occm-red,  and  to  go  on 
with  all  their  services  and  ministrations  just 
as  if  their  patient  were  still  alive.  Yisitors 
were  excluded  from  the  room,  and  messengers 
were  kept  coming  to  and  fro  with  baths, 
medicaments,  and  other  appliances,  such  as 
a  desperate  crisis  in  a  sick  chamber  might  be 
supposed  to  require.  The  Senate  was  con- 
vened, too,  in  the  course  of  the  morning,  and 
Agrippina,  as  if  in  great  distress,  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  them,  informing  them  of  her  husband's 
dangerous  condition,  and  entreating  them  to 
join  with  the  chief  civil  and  religious  func- 
tionaries of  the  city,  in  offering  vows,  suppli- 
cations, and  sacrifices  for  his  recovery.  She 
herself,  in  the  mean  time,  went  from  room  to 
room  about  the  palace,  overwhelmed  to  all 
appearance,  with  -anxiety  and  grief.  She 
kept  Britannicus  and  his  sisters  all  the  time 


A.D.  54.]     Nero  Jln  Empeeok.  135 

Agrippina's  plans  for  proclaiming  Nero. 

with  her,  folding  the  boy  in  her  arms  with  an 
appearance  of  the  fondest  affection,  and  tell- 
ing him  how  heart-broken  she  was  at  the  dan- 
gerous condition  of  his  father.  She  kept 
Britannicus  thus  constantly  near  to  her,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  his  being 
seized  and  carried  away  to  the  camp  by  any 
party  that  might  be  disposed  to  make  him 
emperor  rather  than  Nero,  when  it  should  be 
known  that  Claudius  had  ceased  to  reign.  As 
an  additional  defense  against  this  danger, 
Agrippina  brought  up  a  cohort  of  the  life- 
guards around  the  palace,  and  caused  them 
to  be  stationed  in  such  a  manner  that  every 
avenue  of  approach  to  the  edifice  was  com- 
pletely secured.  The  cohort  which  she  se- 
lected was  one  that  she  thought  she  could 
most  safely  rely  upon,  not  only  for  guarding 
the  palace  while  she  remained  within  it,  but 
for  proclaiming  Nero  as  emperor  when  she 
snould  at  last  be  ready  to  come  forth  and  an- 
nounce the  death  of  her  husband. 

At  length,  about  noon,  she  deemed  that  the 
hour  had  arrived,  and  after  placing  Britan- 
nicus and  his  sisters  in  some  safe  custody 
within  the  palace,  she  ordered  the  gates  to  be 
thrown  open,  and  prepared  to  come  forth  to 


136  [N'ero.  [A.D.  54. 

Seneca  and  Burrus.  History  of  Seneca. 

announce  the  death  of  Claudius,  and  to  pre- 
sent Nero  to  the  army  and  to  the  people  of 
Rome,  as  his  rightful  successor.  She  was 
aided  and  supported  in  these  preparations 
by  a  number  of  officers  and  attendants, 
among  whom  were  the  two  whom  she  had  de- 
termined upon  as  the  two  principal  ministers 
of  her  son's  government.  These  were  Seneca 
and  Burrus.  Seneca  was  to  be  minister  of 
state,  and  Burrus  the  chief  military  com- 
mander. 

Both  these  men  had  long  been  in  the  ser- 
vice of  Agrippina  and  of  Nero.  Seneca  was 
now  over  fifty  years  of  age.  He  was  very 
highly  distinguished  as  a  scholar  and  rheto- 
rician while  he  lived,  and  his  numerous  writ- 
ings have  given  him  great  celebrity  since,  in 
every  age.  He  commenced  his  career  in 
Eome  as  a  public  advocate  in  the  Forum, 
during  the  reign  of  Caligula.  After  Cali- 
gula's death  he  incurred  the  displeasure  of 
Claudius  in  the  first  year  of  that  emperor's 
reign,  and  he  was  banished  to  the  island  of 
Corsica,  where  he  remained  in  neglect  and 
obscurity  for  about  eight  years.  When  at 
length  Messalina  was  put  to  death,  and  the 
emperor  married  Agrippina,  Seneca  was  par- 


A.D.  54.]     Neeo  AN  Empeeok.  137 

Account  of  Burrus.  His  military  rank. 

doned  and  recalled  through  Agrippina's  in- 
fluence, and  after  that  he  devoted  himself 
very  faithfully  to  the  service  of  the  empress 
and  of  her  son.  Agrippina  appointed  him 
JSTero's  preceptor,  and  gave  him  the  direction 
of  all  the  studies  which  her  son  pursued  in 
qualifying  himself  for  the  duties  of  a  public 
orator  ;  and  now  that  she  was  about  attempt- 
ing to  advance  her  son  to  the  supreme  com- 
mand, she  intended  to  make  the  philosopher 
his  principal  secretary  and  minister  of  state. 

Burrus  was  the  commander  of  the  life- 
guards, or  as  the  ofiice  was  called  in  those 
days,  prefect  of  the  prsetorium.  The  life- 
guards, or  body-guards,  whose  duty  consisted 
exclusively  in  attending  upon,  escorting  and 
protecting  the  emperor,  consisted  of  ten  co- 
horts, each  containing  about  a  thousand  men. 
The  soldiers  designated  for  this  service  were 
of  course  selected  from  the  whole  army,  and 
as  no  expense  was  spared  in  providing  them 
with  arms,  accoutrements  and  other  aj)point- 
ments,  they  formed  the  finest  body  of  troops 
in  the  world.  They  received  double  pay,  and 
enjoyed  special  privileges ;  and  ever}'-  ar- 
rangement was  made  to  secure  their  entire 
subserviency  to  the  will,  and  attachment  to 


138  Nero.  [A.D.  54. 

The  PraBtorian  cohorts.  Agrippina's  plans. 

the  person,  of  the  reigning  emperor.  Of 
course  such  a  corps  would  be  regarded  by  all 
the  other  divisions  of  the  army  as  entirely 
superior  in  rank  and  consideration,  to  the  or- 
dinary service ;  and  the  general  who  com- 
manded them  would  take  precedence  of  every 
other  military  commander,  being  second  only 
to  the  empei'or  himself.  Agrippina  had  con- 
trived to  raise  Burrus  to  this  post  through  her 
influence  with  Claudius.  He  was  a  friend  to 
her  interests  before,  and  he  became  still  more 
devoted  to  her  after  receiving  such  an  ap- 
pointment through  her  instrumentality. — 
Agrippina  now  depended  upon  Burrus  to 
carry  the  Praetorian  cohorts  in  favor  of  her 
son. 

Accordingly  at  noon  of  the  day  on  which 
Claudius  died,  when  all  things  were  ready, 
the  palace  gates  were  thrown  open  and  Agiip- 
pina  came  forth  with  her  son,  accompanied 
by  Burrus  and  by  other  attendants.  The  co- 
hort on  duty  was  drawn  up  under  arms  at  the 
palace  gates.  Burrus  presented  Nero  to  them 
as  the  successor  of  Claudius,  and  at  a  signal 
from  him  they  all  responded  with  shoiits  and 
acclamations.  Some  few  of  the  soldiers  did 
not  join  in  this  cheering,  but  looked  on  in  si- 


A.D.  54.]     Neeo  AN  Emperor.  139 

Nero  brought  forward.  His  promises  to  the  army. 


lence,  and  then  inquired  of  one  another  what 
had  become  of  Britannicus.  But  there  were 
none  to  answer  this  question,  and  as  no  one 
appeared  to  proclaim  Britannicus  or  to  speak 
in  his  name,  the  whole  cohort  finally  acqui- 
esced in  the  decision  to  which  the  majority,  at 
the  instigation  of  Burrus,  seemed  inclined.  A 
sort  of  chair  or  open  palanquin  was  provided, 
and  Nero  was  mounted  upon  it.  He  was 
borne  in  this  way  by  the  soldiers  through  the 
streets  of  the  city,  escorted  by  the  cohort  on 
the  way,  till  he  reached  the  camp.  As  the 
procession  moved  along,  the  air  was  filled  with 
the  shouts  and  acclamations  of  the  soldiers 
and  of  the  people. 

When  the  party  arrived  at  the  camp  Nero 
was  presented  to  the  army,  and  the  officers 
and  soldiers  being  drawn  up  before  him  he 
delivered  a  brief  speech  which  Seneca  had  pre- 
pared for  the  occasion.  The  principal  point 
in  this  speech,  and  the  one  on  which  its  effect 
was  expected  to  depend,  was  a  promise  of  a 
large  distribution  of  money.  The  soldiers  al- 
ways expected  such  a  donative  on  the  accession 
of  any  new  emperor, — but  Nero,  in  order  to 
suppress  any  latent  opposition  which  might  be 
felt  against  his  claims,  made  his  proposed  dis-" 


140  Wero.  [A.D.  54. 

He  is  proclaimed.  General  acqiiiescence  in  his  elevation. 

tribution  unusually  large.  The  soldiers  read- 
ily yielded  to  the  influence  of  this  promise, 
and  with  one  accord  proclaimed  ISfero  empe- 
ror. The  Senate  was  soon  afterward  con- 
vened, and  partly  through  the  influence  of 
certain  prominent  members  whom  Agripjjinat; 
had  taken  measures  to  secure  in  her  interest, 
and  partly  through  the  general  conviction  that 
as  things  were  the  claims  of  Britannicus  could 
not  be  successfully  maintained,  the  choice  of 
the  army  was  confirmed.  And  as  the  tidings 
of  what  had  taken  place  at  the  capital  gradu- 
ally spread  through  Italy  and  to  the  remoter 
portions  of  the  empire,  the  provinces,  and  the 
various  legions  at  their  encampments,  one 
after  another  acquiesced  in  the  result,  both 
because  on  the  one  hand  they  had  no  strong 
•motive  for  dissenting,  and  on  the  other,  they 
had  individually  no  power  to  make  any  effec- 
tual resistance.  Thus  Nero,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  became  emperor  of  Home,  and  as 
such  the  almost  absolute  monarch  of  nearly 
half  the  world. 

It  was,  however,  by  no  means  the  design 
of  Agrippina  that  her  son  should  actually 
wield,  himself,  all  this  power.  Her  motive, 
in  all  her  manoeuvers  for  bringing  Nero  to 


A.D.  54.]     Nero  AN  Emperor.  141 

Agrippina's  real  designs  in  the  elevation  of  her  son, 

this  lofty  position,  was  a  personal,  not  a  ma- 
ternal ambition.  She  was  herself  to  reign, 
not  he  ;  and  she  had  brought  him  forward 
as  tlie  nominal  sovereign  only,  in  order  that 
she  might  herself  exercise  the  power  by  act- 
ing in  his  name.  Her  plan  was  to  secure  her 
own  ascendency,  by  so  arranging  and  direct- 
ing the  course  of  affairs  that  the  young  em- 
peror himself  should  have  as  little  as  possible 
to  do  with  the  duties  of  his  office  ;  and  that 
instead  of  direct  action  on  his  part,  all  the 
functions  of  the  government  should  be  fulfilled 
by  officers  of  various  grades,  whom  she  was  her- 
self to  appoint  and  to  sustain,  and  who,  since 
they  would  know  that  they  were  dependent 
on  Agrippina's  influence  for  their  elevation, 
would  naturally  be  subservient  to  her  will. 
Nero  being  so  young,  she  thought  that  he 
could  easily  be  led  to  acquiesce  in  such  man- 
agement as  this,  especially  if  he  were  indulged 
in  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  luxuries  and 
pleasures,  innocent  or  otherwise,  which  his 
high  station  would  enable  him  to  command, 
and  which  'are  usually  so  tempting  to  one  of 
his  character  and  years. 

The  first  of  Agrippina's  measures  was  to 
make  arrangement  for  a  most  imposing  and 


142  Nero.  [A.D.  54. 

The  funeral  solemnities.  Nero's  oration.  The  panegyric. 

magnificent  funeral,  as  the  testimonial  of  the 
deep  conjugal  affection  which  she  entertained 
for  her  husband,  and  the  profound  grief  with 
which  she  was  affected  by  his  death !  The 
most  extensive  preparations  were  made  for 
this  funeral ;  and  the  pomp  and  parade  which 
were  displayed  in  Kome  on  the  day  of  the 
ceremony,  had  never  been  surpassed,  it  was 
said,  by  any  similar  spectacle  on  any  former 
occasion.  In  the  course  of  the  services  that 
were  performed,  a  funeral  oration  was  deliv- 
ered by  Nero  to  the  immense  concourse  of 
people  that  were  convened.  The  oration  was 
written  by  Seneca.  It  was  a  high  panegyric 
upon  the  virtues  and  the  renown  of  the  de- 
ceased, and  it  represented  in  the  brightest 
colors,  and  with  great  magnificence  of  diction, 
his  illustrious  birth,  the  high  ofiices  to  which 
he  had  attained,  his  taste  for  the  liberal  arts, 
and  the  peace  and  tranquillity  which  had  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  empire  during  his  reign. 
To  write  a  panegyric  upon  such  a  man  as 
Claudius  had  been,  must  surely  have  proved 
a  somewhat  difficult  task ;  but  Seneca  accom- 
plished it  very  adroitly,  and  the  people,  aided 
by  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  listened  with 
proper  gravity,  until  at  length  the  orator  be- 


;A.D.  54.J     Neeo  AN  Emperor.  143 

The  senate  is  convened.  Nero's  inaugural  address. 

tgan  to  speak  of  the  judgment  and  the  political 
1  wisdom  of  Claudius,  and  then  the  listeners 
j  found  that  they  could  preserve  their  decorum 
mo  longer.  The  audience  looked  at  each  other, 
iand  there  was  a  general  laugh.  The  young 
I'  orator,  though  for  the  moment  somewhat  dis- 
concerted at  this  interruption,  soon  recovered 
1  himself,  and  went  on  to  the  end  of  his  dis- 
i  course. 

After  these  funeral  ceremonies  had  been 
]  performed,    the   Senate  was   convened,  and 
Nero  appeared  before  them  to  make  his  in- 
I  augural  address.     This  address  also,  was  of 
i  course  prepared  for  him  by  Seneca,  under  di- 
1  rections  from  Agrippina,  who,  after  revolving 
1  the  subject  fully  in  her  mind,  had  determined 
what  it  would  be  most  politic  to  say.     She 
knew  very  well  that  until  the  power  of  her 
I  son  became  consolidated  and  settled,  it  became 
him  to  be  modest  in  his  pretensions  and  claims, 
■  and  to  profess  great  deference  and  respect  for 
the  powers  and  prerogatives  of  the  Senate. 
In  the  speech,  therefore,  which  Nero  delivered 
in  the  senate-chamber,  he  said  that  in  assum- 
ing the  imperial  dignity,  which  he  had  con- 
sented to  do  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  his 
father  the  late  emperor,  to  the  general  voice 


144  Keeo.  [A.D.  54. 

Nero's  excellent  proiiihies.    .  Satisfaction  of  tlio  Senate. 

of  the  armj,  and  the  universal  suffrages  of  the 
people,  he  did  not  intend  to  usurp  the  civil 
powers  of  the  state,  bat  to  leave  to  the  Senate, 
and  to  the  various  civil  functionaries  of  the 
city,  their  rightful  and  proper  jurisdiction. 
He  considered  himself  as  merely  the  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  armies  of  the  common- 
wealth, and  as  such,  his  duty  would  be  simply 
to  execute  the  national  will.  He  promised^ 
moreover,  a  great  variety  of  reforms  in  the 
administration,  all  tending  to  diminish  the 
authority  of  the  prince,  and  to  protect  the 
people  from  danger  of  oppression  by  military 
power.  In  a  word,  it  was  his  settled  purpose, 
he  said,  to  restore  the  government  to  its  pris- 
tine simplicity  and  purity,  and  to  administer 
it  in  strict  accordance  with  the  true  principles 
of  the  Roman  Constitution,  as  originally  es- 
tablished by  the  founders  of  the  common- 
wealth. The  professions  and  promises  which 
Nero  thus  made  to  the  Senate,  or  rather  which 
he  recited  to  them  at  the  dictation  of  his 
mother  and  of  Seneca,  gave  great  satisfaction 
to  all  who  heard  them.  All  opposition  to  the 
claims  which  he  advanced,  disappeared,  and 
the  heart  of  Agrippina  w^as  filled  with  glad- 


A-.D.  54.]     Neko   an    Emperok.  115 


Agrippina  assumes  the  real  power. 


ness  and  joy  at  finding  that  all  her  plans  had 
been  so  fully  and  successfully  realized. 

The  ofiicial  authority  of  Nero  being  thus 
generally  acknowledged,  Agrijipina  began 
immediately  to  pursue  a  system  of  policy  de- 
signed to  secure  the  possession  of  all  reab 
power  for  herself,  leaving  only  the  name  and 
semblance  of  it  to  her  son.  She  appeared  in 
all  public  places  with  him,  sharing  with  him 
the  jjomp,  and  parade,  and  insignia  of  office, 
as  if  she  were  associated  with  him  in  official 
power.  She  received  and  opened  the  dis- 
patches and  sent  answers  to  them.  She  con- 
sidered and  decided  questions  of  state,  and 
issued  her  orders.  She  caused  several  influ- 
ential persons  whom  she  supposed  likely  to 
take  part  with  Britannicus,  or  at  least  secretly 
to  favor  his  claims,  to  be  put  to  death,  either 
by  violence  or  by  poison  ;  and  she  would  have 
caused  the  death  of  many  others  in  this  way, 
if  Burrus  and  Seneca  had  not  interposed  their 
influence  to  prevent  it.  She  did  all  these 
things  in  a  somewhat  covert  and  cautious 
manner,  acting  generally  in  Nero's  name,  so 
as  not  to  attract  too  much  attention  at  first  to 
her  measures.  There  was  danger,  she  knew, 
of  awakening  resistance  and  oj)position,  as 
K 


14G  NERa  [A.D.  54. 

Discontent  of  the  niinisters.  An  incident. 

public  sentiment  among  the  Romans  Lad 
always  been  entirely  averse  to  the  idea  of  the 
submission  of  men,  in  any  form,  to  the  govern- 
ment of  women.  Agrippina  accordingly  did 
not  attempt  openly  to  preside  in  the  senate- 
chamber,  but  she  made  arrangements  for 
having  the  meetings  of  the  Senate  sometimes 
held  in  an  apartment  of  the  palace  where  she 
could  attend,  during  the  sitting,  in  an  adjoin- 
ing cabinet,  concealed  from  view  by  a  screen 
or  arras,  and  thus  listen  to  the  debate.  Even 
this,  however,  was  strongly  objected  to  by 
some  of  the  senators.  They  considered  this 
ari-angement  of  Agrippina's  to  be  present  at 
their  debates  as  intended  to  intimidate  them 
into  the  support  of  such  measures  as  she 
might  recommend,  or  be  supposed  to  favor, 
and  thus  as  seriously  interfering  with  the 
freedom  of  their  discussions.  On  one  occasion 
Agrippina  made  a  bolder  experiment  still,  by 
coming  into  the  hall  where  a  company  of 
foreign  embassadors  were  to  have  audience, 
as  if  it  were  a  part  of  her  official  duty  to  join 
in  receiving  them.  Her  son,  the  emperor, 
and  the  government  officers  around  him,  were- 
confounded  when  they  saw  her  coming,  and 
at  first  did  not  know  what  to  do.     Seneca, 


A.D.  54.]     ISTeko  an  Emperok.  147 

Reception  of  Agrippiria  in  the  hall  of  audience. 

liowever,  with  great  presence  of  mind,  said  to 
Nero,  "  Your  mother  is  entering,  go  and  re- 
ceive her."  Hereupon,  Nero  left  his  chair  of 
state,  and  accompanied  by  his  ministers,  went 
to  meet  his  mother,  and  received  her  with 
great  deference  and  respect;  and  the  attention 
of  all  present  was  wholly  devoted  to  Agrip- 
pina  while  she  remained,  as  to  a  very  distin- 
guished and  highly  honored  guest, — the  busi- 
ness which  had  called  them  together  being 
suspended  on  her  account  until  she  withdrew. 
Notwithstanding  some  occasional  difficul- 
ties and  embarrassments  of  this  kind,  every 
thing  went  on  for  a  time  very  prosperously, 
in  accordance  with  Agrippina's  wishes  and 
l^lans.  Nero  was  very  young,  and  little  dis- 
posed at  first  to  thwart  or  to  resist  his  mother's 
measures.  He  was,  however,  all  the  time 
growing  older,  and  he  soon  began  to  grow 
restive  under  the  domination  which  Agrip- 
pina  exercised  over  him,  and  to  form  plans 
and  determinations  of  his  own.  There  follow- 
ed, as  might  have  been  exj)ected,  a  terrible 
conflict  for  the  possession  of  power  between 
him  and  his  mother.  The  history  and  the  ter- 
mination of  this  struggle  will  form  the  subject 
of  the  two  following  chapters. 


148  N'ero.  [A.D.  51, 

BritaiinicuB  and  Acte.  Indignation  of  Agrippina. 


Chapter   YII. 
Beitannicus. 

THE  occasion  which  led  to  the  first  open 
outbreak  between  Agrippina  and  her  son 
was  the  disco v^erj  on  her  part  of  a  secret  and 
guilty  attachment  which  had  been  formed  be- 
tween Nero  and  a  young  girl  of  the  palace 
whose  name  was  Acte.  Acte  was  originally  a 
slave  from  Asia  Minor,  having  been  purchas- 
ed there  and  sent  to  Rome,  very  probably  on 
account  of  her  personal  beauty.  She  had 
been  subsequently  enfranchised,  but  she  re- 
mained still  in  the  palace,  forming  a  part  of 
the  household  of  Agrippina.  Nero  had  never 
felt  any  strong  attachment  for  Octavia.  His 
marriage  he  had  always  regarded  as  merely 
one  of  his  mother's  political  manoeuvers,  and 
he  did  not  consider  himself  as  really  bound  to 
his  wife  by  any  tie.  He  was,  besides,  still 
but  a  boy,  though  unusually  precocious  and 
mature ;  and  he  had  always  been  accustomed 
to  the  most  unlimited  indulgence  of  the  pro- 
pensities and  passions  of  youth. 


A.D.  55.]  Britannicus.  149 

Otho  and  Senecio.  Perplexity  of  Ntro's  n-inisters. 

The  young  prince,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases, 
was  led  on  and  encouraged  in  the  vicious 
course  of  life  that  he  was  now  beginning  to 
pursue,  by  certain  dissolute  companions  whose 
society  he  fell  into  about  this  time.  There 
•were  two  young  men  in  particular  whose  in- 
fluence over  him  was  of  the  worst  character.. 
Their  names  were  Otho  and  Senecio.  Otlio 
was  descended  from  a  very  distinguished 
family,  and  his  rank  and  social  position  in 
Roman  society  were  very  high.  Senecio,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  of  a  very  humble  extrac- 
tion— his  father  being  an  emancipated  slave. 
The  three  young  men  were,  however,  nearly 
of  the  same  age,  and  being  equally  unprici- 
pled  and  dissolute,  they  banded  themselves  to- 
gether in  the  pursuit  and  enjoyment  of  vicious 
indulgences.  Nero  made  Otho  and  Senecio 
his  confidants  in  his  connection  with  Acte, 
and  it  was  in  a  great  measure  throiigh  their 
assistance  and  co-operation  that  he  accom- 
plished his  ends. 

When  Seneca  and  Burrus  were  informed  of 
Nero's  attachment  to  Acte,  and  of  the  connec- 
tion which  had  been  established  between 
them,  they  were  at  first  much  perplexed  to 
know  what  to  do.     They  were  men  of  strict 


150  Nero.  [A.D.  55. 

They  determine  to  connivo  at  Nero's  new  connection. 

moral  i^rinciple  themselves,  and  as  Nero  Lad 
been  their  ^mpil,  and  was  still,  while  they 
continued  his  ministers,  in  some  sense  under 
their  charge,  they  thought  it  might  be  their 
duty  to  remonstrate  with  him  on  the  course 
which  he  was  pursuing,  and  endeavor  to  sep- 
arate him  from  his  vicious  companions,  and 
bring  him  back,  if  possible,  to  his  duty  to 
Octavia.  But  then,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
said  to  each  other  that  any  attempt  on  their 
part  really  to  control  the  ungovernable  and 
lawless  propensities  of  such  a  soul  as  Nero's 
must  be  utterly  unavailing,  and  since  he  must 
necessarily,  as  they  thought,  be  expected  to 
addict  himself  to  vicious  indulgences  in  some 
form,  the  connection  with  Acte  might  perhaps 
be  as  little  to  be  dreaded  as  any.  On  the 
whole,  they  concluded  not  to  interfere. 

Not  so,  however,  with  Agrippina.  When 
she  came  to  learn  of  this  new  attachment 
which  her  son  had  formed,  she  was  very  much 
disturbed  and  alarmed.  Her  distress,  how- 
ever, did  not  arise  from  any  of  those  feelings 
of  solicitude  which,  as  a  mother,  she  might 
have  been  expected  to  feel  for  the  moral 
23urity  of  her  boy,  but  from  fears  that,  through 
the  influence  and  ascendency  which  such  a 


A.D.  55.]  Britannicus.  151 


Agrippina  is  greally  enraged. 


fiivorite  as  Acte  might  acquire,  slie  should 
lose  lier  own  power.  She  knew  very  well 
how  absolute  and  complete  the  domination 
of  such  a  favorite  sometimes  became,  and  she 
trembled  at  the  danger  which  threatened  her 
of  being  suj)planted  by  Acte,  and  thus  losing 
her  control. 

Agrippina  was  very  violent  and  imperious 
in  her  temper,  and  had  long  been  accus- 
tomed to  rule  those  around  her  with  a  very- 
high  hand  ;  and  now,  without  properly  con- 
sidering that  Nei'o  had  passed  beyond  the 
age  in  which  he  could  be  treated  as  a  mere 
boy,  she  attacked  him  at  once  with  the  bit- 
terest reproaches  and  invectives,  and  insisted 
that  his  connection  with  Acte  should  be  im- 
mediately abandoned.  Nero  resisted  her, 
and  stoutly  refused  to  comply  with  her  de- 
mands. Agrippina  was  fired  with  indigna- 
tion and  rage.  She  filled  the  palace  with  her 
complaints  and  criminations.  She  accused 
ISTero  of  the  basest  ingratitude  toward  her, 
in  repaying  the  long-continued  and  faithful 
exertions  and  sacrifices  which  she  had  made 
to  promote  his  interests,  by  thus  displacing 
her  from  his  confidence  and  regard,  to  make 
room  for  this  wretched  favorite,  and  of  false- 


152  N'eeo.  [A.D.  55, 

Her  furious  invectives.  She  becomes  calm  affain. 

ness  and  faithlessness  to  Octavia,  in  aban- 
doning her,  his  lawful  wife,  for  the  society 
of  an  enfranchised  slave.  Agrippina  was 
extremely  violent  in  these  denunciations.  She 
scolded,  she  stormed,  she  raved — acting  mani- 
festly nnder  the  impulse  of  blind  and  uncon- 
trollable passion.  Her  passion  was  obviously 
blind,  for  the  course  to  which  it  impelled  her 
was  plainly  very  far  from  tending  to  accom 
jDlish  any  object  which  she  could  be  sujiposed 
to  have  in  view. 

At  length,  when  the  first  fury  of  her  vexa- 
tion and  anger  had  spent  itself,  she  began  to 
reflect,  as  people  generally  do  when  recover- 
ing from  a  passion,  that  she  was  spending 
her  strength  in  working  mischief  to  her  own 
cause.  This  reflection  helped  to  promote  the 
subsiding  of  her  anger.  Her  loud  denuncia'- 
tions  gradually  died  away,  and  were  suc- 
ceeded by  mutterings  and  murmurings.  At 
length  she  became  silent  altogether,  and  after 
an  interval  of  reflection,  she  concluded  no 
longer  to  give  way  to  her  clamorous  and  use- 
less anger,  but  calmly  to  consider  what  it  was 
best  to  do. 

She  soon  determined  that  the  wisest  and 
most  politic  plan  after  all,  would  be  for  her 


A.D.  55.]  Beitannicus.  153 


Agrippina  changes  her  policy. 


to  acquiesce  in  the  fancy  of  her  son,  and  en- 
deavor to  retain  her  ascendency  over  him  by 
aiding  and  countenancing  him  in  his  pleas- 
ures. She  accordingly  changed  by  degrees 
the  tone  which  she  had  assumed  toward  him, 
and  began  to  address  him  in  words  of  favor 
and  indulgence.  She  said  that  it  was  natural, 
after  all,  at  his  time  of  life,  toJ_ove,  and  that_ 
his  superior  rank  and  station  entitled  him  to 
some  degree  of  immunity  from  the  restric- 
tions imposed  upon  ordinary  men.  Actc 
was  indeed  a  beautiful  girl,  and  she  was  not 
surprised,  she  said,  that  he  had  conceived  an 
affection  for  her.  The  indulgence  of  his  love 
was  indeed  attended  with  difficulty  and  dan- 
ger, but,  if  he  would  submit  the  affair  to  her 
care  and  management,  she  could  take  such 
precautions  that  all  would  be  well.  She 
apologized  for  the  warmth  with  which  she 
had  at  first  spoken,  and  attributed  it  to  the 
jealous  and  watchful  interest  which  a  mother 
must  always  feel  in  all  that  relates  to  the 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  her  son.  She 
said,  moreover,  that  she  was  now  ready  and 
willing  to  enter  into  and  promote  his  views, 
and  she  offered  him  the  use  of  certain  private 
ai^artments  of  her  own  in  the  palace,  to  meet 


15 i  Neeo.  [A.D.  55. 

Nero  rejects  his  mother's  advances.  His  treatment  of  her. 

Acte  in,  saying  that,  by  such  an  arrangement, 
and  with  the  precautions  that  she  could  use, 
he  could  enjoy  the  societ}'-  of  his  favorite 
whenever  he  pleased,  without  interruption 
and  without  danger. 

Nero  very  naturally  reported  all  this  to  his 
companions.  They  of  course  advised  him  not 
to  believe  any  thing  that  his  mother  said,  nor 
to  ti-ust  to  her  in  any  w^ay.  "It  is  all,"  said 
they,  "  an  artful  device  on  her  part  to  get  you 
into  her  power ;  and  no  young  man  of  pride 
and  spirit  will  submit  to  the  disgrace  of  being 
under  his  mother's  management  and  control." 
The  young  profligate  listened  to  the  counsels 
of  his  associates,  and  rejected  the  overtures 
which  his  mother  had  made  him.  He  con- 
tinued his  attachment  to  Acte,  but  kept  as 
much  as  possible  aloof  from  Agrippina. 

He  desired,  however,  if  possible,  to  avoid 
an  open  quarrel  with  his  mother,  and  so  he 
made  some  eflbrt  to  treat  her  with  attention 
and  respect,  in  his  general  bearing  toward 
her,  while  he  persisted  in  refusing  to  admit 
her  to  his  confidence  in  respect  to  Acte.- 
These  general  attentions  were,  however,  by 
no  means  sufiicient  to  satisfy  Agrippina.  The 
influence  of  Acte  was  what  she  feared,  and 


A.D.  55.]  Britannicus.  155 


He  makes  her  a  present  of  jewelry. 


she  well  knew  that  her  own  j^ower  was  in 
imminent  dano;er  of  beino-  undermined  and 
overthrown,  unless  she  could  find  some  means 
of  bringing  her  son's  connection  with  his  fa- 
vorite under  her  own  control.  Thus  the  calm 
that  seemed  for  a  short  time  to  reign  between 
Nero  and  his  mother  was  an  armistice  rather 
than  a  peace,  and  this  armistice  was  brought 
at  length  to  a  sudden  termination  by  an  act 
of  Nero's  which  he  intended  as  an  act  of  con- 
ciliation and  kindness,  but  which  proved  to  be 
in  effect  the  means  of  awakening  his  mother's 
anger  anew,  and  of  exciting  her  even  to  a 
more  violent  exasperation  than  she  had  felt 
before. 

It  seems  that  among  the  other  treasures  of 
the  imperial  palace  at  Rome  there  was  an 
extensive  wardrobe  of  very  costly  female 
dresses  and  decorations,  which  was  appropri- 
ated to  the  use  of  the  wives  and  mothers  of 
the  emperors.  Nero  conceived  the  idea  of 
making  a  present  to  his  mother,  from  this  col- 
lection. He  accordingly  selected  a  magnifi- 
cent dress,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of 
jewelry,  and  sent  them  to  Agrippina.  In- 
stead of  being  gratified  with  this  gift,  how- 
ever,  Agrippina  received  it    as   an   afii'ont. 


156 


Nero. 


Agrippina  is  enraged. 


[A.D.  55. 


The  Jewelry. 


She  had  been  so  long  accustomed  to  consider 
herself  as  the  first  personage  in  the  imperial 
household,  that  she  regarded  all  such  things 
as  rightfully  her  own ;  and  she  consequently 
looked  upon  the  act  of  Nero  in  fonnally  pre- 
senting her  with  a  small  portion  of  these  treas- 
ures, as  a  simple  impertinence,  and  as  in- 
tended to  notify  her  that  he  considered  all 
that  remained  of  the  collection  as  his  property, 
and  thenceforth  as  such  subject  to  liis  exclu- 


A.D.  55.]  Britannicus.  157 

Noro  resolves  to  subdue  his  mother.  His  plan. 

sive  control.  Instead  therefore  of  being  ap- 
peased by  Kero's  offering  she  was  greatly 
enraged  by  it.  The  angry  invectives  which 
she  uttered  were  duly  reported  to  the  empe- 
ror, and  his  indignation  and  resentment  were 
aroused  by  them  anew,  and  thus  the  breach 
between  the  mother  and  the  son  became  wider 
than  ever. 

IiL.fact_y£]X>-  began-to  perceive-xer^L-dearly 
that  if  he  intended  to  secure  for  himself  any 
thing  more  than  the  empty  semblance  of 
power,  he  must  at  once  do  something  effectual 
to  curb  the  domineering  and  ambitious  spirit 
of  his  mother.  After  revolving  this  subject 
in  his  mind,  he  finally  concluded  that  the 
measure  which  promised  to  be  most  decisive 
was  to  dismiss  a  certain  public  officer  named 
Pallas,  who  had  been  brought  forward  into 
public  life  many  years  before  by  Agripjjina, 
and  was  now  the  chief  instrument  of  her  po- 
litical power.  Pallas  was  the  public  treasu- 
rer, and  he  had  amassed  such  enormous 
wealth  by  his  management  of  the  public 
finances,  that  at  one  time  when  Claudius  was 
complaining  of  the  impoverished  condition 
of  his  exchequer,  some  one  replied  that  he 
would  soon  be  rich  enough  if  he  could  but 


158  Neeo.  [A.D.  55. 

Pullus  dismissed.  His  withdrawal. 

induce  his  treasurer  to  receive  him  into  part- 
nership. 

Pallas,  as  has  already  been  said,  had  been 
originally  brought  forward  into  public  life  by 
the  influence  of  Agrippina,  and  he  had  al- 
ways been  Agrippina's  chief  reliance  in  all 
her  political  schemes.  He  had  aided  very 
elFectually  in  promoting  her  marriage  with 
Claudius  ;  and  had  co-operated  with  her  in 
all  her  subsequent  measures ;  and  Nero  con- 
sidered him  now  as  his  mother's  chief  sup- 
j)orter  and  ally.  Nero  resolved,  accordingly, 
to  dismiss  him  from  office ;  and  in  order  to 
induce  him  to  retire  peaceably,  it  was  agreed 
that  no  inquiry  or  investigation  should  be 
made  into  the  state  of  his  accounts,  but  every 
thing  should  be  considered  as  balanced  and 
settled.  Pallas  acceded  to  this  proposal. 
During  the  whole  course  of  his  official  career, 
he  had  lived  in  great  magnificence  and  splen- 
dor, and  now  in  laying  down  his  office,  he 
withdrew  from  the  imperial  palace^,  at  the 
head  of  a  long  train  of  attendants,  and  witli  a 
degree  of  pomp  and  parade  which  ^attracted 
universal  attention.  The  event  wa#  regfeirded 
by  the  public  as  a  declaration  on  the  part  of 
Nero,  that  thenceforth  he  himself  and  not  his 


A.D.  55.]  Bkitannicus.  159 

Agrippiiia's  bitter  reproaches.  Her  threats. 

mother  was  to  rule  ;  and  Agrippina,  of  course, 
fell  at  once,  many  degrees,  from  the  high 
position  which  she  had  held  in  the  public 
estimation. 

She  was,  of  course,  greatly  enraged,  and 
though  utterly  helpless  in  respect  to  resist- 
ance, she  stormed  about  the  palace,  uttering 
the  loudest  and  most  violent  expressions  of 
resentment  and  anger. 

During  the  continuance  of  this  paroxysm 
Agrippina  bitterly  reproached  her  son  for 
what  she  termed  his  cruel  ingratitude.  It 
was  altogether  to  her,  she  said,  that  he  owed 
his  elevation.  For  a  long  course  of  years  she 
had  been  making  ceaseless  exertions,  had  sub- 
mitted to  the  greatest  sacrifices,  and  had  even 
committed  the  most  atrocious  crimes,  to  raise 
him  to  the  high  position  to  which  he  had  at- 
tained ;  and  now,  so  soon  as  he  had  attained 
it,  and  had  made  himself  sure,  as  he  fancied, 
of  his  foothold,  his  first  act  was  to  turn  basely 
and  ungratefully  against  the  hand  that  had 
raised  him.  But  notwithstanding  his  fancied 
security,  she  would  teach  him,  she  said,  that 
her  power  was  still  to  be  feared.  Britannicus 
was  still  alive,  and  he  was  after  all  the  right- 
ful heir,  and  since  her  son  had  proved  him- 


160  Nero.  [A.D.  55. 

She  declares  that  she  will  cause  Nero  to  be  deposed. 

self  SO  unworthy  of  the  efforts  and  sacrifices 
that  she  had  made  for  him,  she  would  forth- 
with take  measures  to  restore  to  Britannicus 
what  she  had  so  unjustly  taken  from  him. 
She  would  immediately  divulge  all  the  dread- 
ful secrets  which  were  connected  with  Nero's 
elevation.  She  would  make  known  the  arts 
by  means  of  which  her  marriage  wuth  Clau- 
dius had  been  effected,  and  the  adoption  of 
Nero  as  Claudius's  son  and  heir  had  been 
secured.  She  would  confess  the  murder  of 
Claudius,  and  the  usurpation  on  her  part  of 
the  imperial  power  for  Nero  her  son.  Nero 
would,  in  consequence,  be  deposed,  and  Bri- 
tannicus would  succeed  him,  and  thus  the  base 
ingratitude  and  treachery  toward  his  mother 
which  Nero  had  displayed  would  be  avenged. 
This  plan,  she  declared,  she  would  immedi- 
ately carry  into  effect.  She  would  take  Bri- 
tannicus to  the  camp,  and  appeal  to  the  army 
in  his  name.  Both  Burrus  and  Seneca  would 
join  hsr,  and  her  undutiful  and  treacherous 
son  would  be  stripped  forthwith  of  his  ill- 
o-otten  power. 

These  words  of  Agrippina  were  not,  how- 
ever, the  expressions  of  sober  purpose,  really 
and   honestly   entertained.     They  were   the 


A.D.  55.]  Britannicus.  161 

Probable  character  and  moaning  of  these  threats. 

wild  and  uuthiuking  threats  and  denuncia- 
tions which  are  prompted  in  such  cases  by 
the  frenzy  of  helpless  and  impotent  rage.  It 
is  not  at  all  probable  that  she  had  any  serious 
intention  of  attempting  such  desperate  meas- 
ures as  she  threatened  ;  for  if  she  had  really 
entertained  such  a  design,  she  would  have 
carefully  kept  it  secret  while  making  her  ar- 
rangements for  carrying  it  into  execution. 

Still  these  threats  and  denunciations,  though 
they  were  obviously  prompted  by  a  blind  and 
temporary  rage,  which  it  might  be  reasonably 
6upj)osed  would  soon  subside,  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  Nero's  mind.  In  the  first 
place,  he  was  angry  with  his  mother  for  dar- 
ing to  utter  them.  Then  there  was  at  least  a 
possibility  that  she  might  really  undertake  to 
put  them  in  execution,  as  no  one  could  fore- 
see, what  her  desj)erate  frenzy  might  lead 
her  to  do.  Then  besides,  even  if  Agrippina's 
resentment  were  to  subside,  and  she  should 
seem  entirely  to  abandon  all  idea  of  ever  exe- 
cuting her  threats,  Nero  was  extremely  un- 
willing to  remain  thus  in  his  mother's  power 
— exposed  continually  to  fresh  outbreaks  of 
her  hostility,  whenever  her  anger  or  her  ca- 
price might  arouse  her  again.     The  threats 


162  Nero.  [A.D.  55. 

The  game  of  "  who  shall  be  king  ?" 

which  his  mother  uttered  made  him,  there- 
fore, extremely  restless  and  uneasy. 

A  circumstance  occurred  about  this  time 
which,  though  very  trifling  in  itself,  had  the 
eflect  greatly  to  increase  the  jealousy  and  fear 
in  respect  to  Britannicus,  which  Nero  was 
inclined  to  feel.  It  seems  that  among  the 
other  amusements  with  which  the  company 
were  accustomed  to  entertain  themselves  in 
the  social  gatherings  that  took  place,  from 
time  to  time,  in  the  imperial  palace,  there  was 
a  certain  game  which  they  used  to  play, 
called,  "Who  shall  be  king?"  The  game 
consisted  of  choosing  one  of  the  party  by  lot 
to  be  king,  and  then  of  requiring  all  the  others 
to  obey  the  commands,  whatever  they  might 
be,  which  the  king  so  chosen  might  issue. 
Of  course,  the  success  of  the  game  depended 
upon  the  art  and  ingenuity  of  the  king  in 
prescribing  such  things  to  be  done  by  his 
various  subjects,  as  would  most  entertain  and 
amuse  the  company.  What  the  forfeit  or 
penalty  was,  that  the  rules  of  the  game  re- 
quired, in  case  of  disobedience,  is  not  stated  ; 
but  every  one  was  considered  bound  to  obey 
the  commands  that  were  laid   upon  him, — ■ 


A.D.  55.]  Britannicus.  163 


Nero's  orders  lo  Britannicus. 


provided,  of  course,  that  the  thing  required 
was  within  his  power. 

Nero  himself,  it  appears,  was  accustomed 
to  join  in  these  sports,  and  one  evening,  when 
a  party  were  all  playing  it  together  in  his 
palace,  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  be  king.  When  it 
came  to  be  the  turn  of  Britannicus  to  receive 
orders,  Nero  directed  him  to  go  out  into  the 
middle  of  the  room,  and  sing  a  song  to  the 
company.  This  was  a  very  severe  require- 
ment for  one  so  young  as  Britannicus,  and  so 
little  accustomed  to  take  an  active  part  in  the 
festivities  of  so  gay  a  company  ;  and  the  mo- 
tive of  Nero  in  making  it,  was  supposed  to  be 
a  feeling  of  ill-will,  and  a  desire  to  tease  his 
brother,  by  placing  him  in  an  awkward  and 
embarrassing  situation — one  in  which  he  would 
be  compelled  either  to  interrupt  the  game  by 
refusing  to  obey  the  orders  of  the  king,  or  to 
expose  himself  to  ridicule  by  making  a  fruit- 
less attempt  to  sing  a  song. 

To  the  surprise  of  all,  however,  Britannicus 
rose  from  his  seat  without  any  apparent  hesi- 
tation or  embarrassment,  walked  out  upon  the, 
floor,  and  took  his  position.  The  attention  of 
the  whole  company  was  fixed  upon  him.  All 
sounds  were  hushed. 


164  ISTeko.  [A.D.  55. 

The  song  which  Britannicus  sung. 

He  began  to  sing.  The  song  was  a  lament, 
describing  in  plaintive  words  and  in  mournful 
music,  the  situation  and  the  sorrows  of  a  young 
prince,  excluded  wrongfully  from  the  throne 
of  his  ancestors.*  The  whole  comj)any  lis- 
tened with  profound  attention,  charmed  at  first 
by  the  artless  simplicity  of  the  music,  and  the 
grace  and  beauty  of  the  boy.  As  Britannicus 
proceeded  in  his  song,  and  the  meaning  of  it, 
in  its  application  to  his  OM^n  case,  began  to  be 
perceived,  a  universal  sympathy  for  him  was 
felt,  by  the  whole  assembly,  and  when  he  con- 
cluded and  resumed  his  seat,  the  apartment 

*  By  some  it  has  been  thought  that  the  song  ^ivliich  Britan- 
nicus sung  on  this  occasion  was  one  which  he  had  learned 
before — one  perhaps  wliich  he  had  accidentally  seen  or  heard, 
and  which  had  attracted  his  attention  on  account  of  its  adapt- 
edness  to  his  own  case ;  and  there  is  a  song  of  Ennius,  an  an- 
cient writer,  which  is  sometimes  cited  as  the  one  he  sang  on 
this  occasion.  Others  say  that  the  performance  was  original 
and  extemporaneous ;  that  the  young  prince,  excited  by  his 
wrongs,  and  by  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  occasion, 
gave  utterance  to  his  own  feelings  in  words  which  suggested 
themselves  to  him  on  the  spot.  To  do  this  would  require,  of 
course,  great  intellectual  readiness  and  ability, — but  the  dif- 
ficulty of  such  a  performance  would  be  somfcwhat  diminished 
by  the  fact,  that  the  ancient  poetry  was  wholly  different 
from  that  of  modern  times,  being  marked  only  by  a  meas- 
ured cadence,  unconnected  with  rhyme. 


A.D.  55.]  Britannicus.  165 

Noro  resolves  to  resort  to  poison.  Pollio  and  Locusta. 

was  filled  with  suppressed  murmurs  of  ap- 
plause. The  effect  of  this  sceue  upon  the 
mind  of  Nero,  was  of  course  only  to  awaken 
feelings  of  vexation  and  anger.  He  looked 
on  in  moody  silence,  uttering  mentally  the 
fiercest  threats  and  denunciations  against  the 
object  of  his  jealousy,  whom  he  was  now  com- 
pelled to  look  upon,  more  than  ever  before,  as 
a  dangerous  and  formidable  rival.  He  de- 
termined, in  fact,  that  Britannicus  should  die.  >^^ 

In  considering  by  what  means  he  should 
undertake  to  effect  his  purpose,  it  seemed  to 
Nero  most  prudent  to  employ  poison.  There 
was  no  pretext  whatever  for  any  criminal 
charge  against  the  young  prince,  and  Nero 
did  not  dare  to  resort  to  open  violence.  He 
determined,  therefore,  to  resort  to  poison,  and 
to  employ  Locusta  to  prepare  it. 

Locusta,  the  reader  will  remember,  was  the 
woman  whom  Agrippina  had  employed  for 
the  murder  of  her  husband,  Claudius.  She 
was  still  in  custody  as  a  convict,  being  under 
sentence  of  death  for  her  crimes.  She  was  in 
charge  of  a  certain  captain  named  Pollio,  an 
officer  of  the  Praetorian  guard.  Nero  sent  for 
Pollio,  and  directed  him  to  procure  from  his 
prisoner  a  poisonous  potion  suitable  for  the 


166  Nero.  [A.D.  55. 

The  plan  at  first  fails.  A  second  attempt. 

purpose  intended.  The  potion  was  prepared, 
and  soon  afterward  it  was  administered.  At 
least  it  was  given  to  certain  attendants  that 
were  employed  about  the  person  of  Britan- 
nicus,  with  orders  that  they  should  administer 
it.  The  expected  effect,  however,  was  not 
produced.  "Whether  it  was  because  the  po- 
tion which  Locusta  had  prepared  was  too 
weak,  or  because  it  was  not  really  adminis- 
tered by  those  who  received  it  in  charge,  no 
result  followed,  and  Nero  was  greatly  enraged. 
He  sent  for  Pollio,  and  assailed  him  with  re- 
proaches and  threats,  and  as  for  Locusta,  he 
declared  that  she  should  be  immediately  put 
to  death.  They  were  both  miserable  cowards, 
he  said,  who  had  not  the  firmness  to  do  their 
duty.  Pollio,  in  reply,  made  the  most  earnest 
protestations  of  his  readiness  to  do  whatever 
his  master  should  command.  He  assured 
Nero  that  the  failure  of  their  attempt  was 
owing  entirely  to  some  accidental  cause,  and 
that  if  he  would  give  Locusta  one  more  op- 
portunity to  make  the  trial,  he  would  guaran- 
tee that  she  would  prepare  a,  mixture  that 
would  kill  Britannicus  as  quick  as  a  dagger 
would  do  it. 

Nero  ordered  that  this  should  immediately 


A.D.  55.]  Bkitannicus.  167 

A  second  preparation.  Mode  of  administering  the  poison. 

be  done.  Locusta  was  sent  for,  and  was  shut 
up  with  Pollio  in  an  aj)artment  adjoining  that 
of  the  emperor,  with  directions  to  make  the 
mixture  there,  and  then  to  administer  it  forth- 
with. Their  lives  were  to  depend  upon  the 
result.  The  poison  was  soon  prepared.  There 
was,  however,  a  serious  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  administering  it,  since  a  potion  so  sudden 
and  violent  in  its  character  as  this  was  intend- 
ed to  be,  might  be  expected  to  take  immediate 
effect  upon  the  taster,  and  so  produce  an  alarm 
which  would  prevent  Britannicus  from  re- 
ceiving it.  To  obviate  this  difficulty,  Pollio 
and  Locusta  cunningly  contrived  the  follow- 
ing plan. 

They  mixed  the  poison  when  it  was  prepar- 
ed, with  cold  water,  and  put  it  in  the  pitcher 
in  which  cold  water  was  customarily  kept  in 
the  apartment  where  Britannicus  was  to  take 
his  supper.  When  the  time  arrived  Nero 
himself  came  in  and  took  his  place  upon  a 
couch  which  was  standing  in  the  room,  with  a 
view  of  watching  the  proceedings.  Some 
broth  was  brought  in  for  the  prince's  supper. 
The  attendant  whose  duty  it  was,  tasted  it  as 
usual,  and  then  passed  it  into  the  prince's 
hand.     Britannicus  tasted  it,  and   found  it 


168  Kero.  [A.D.  55. 

Britaniiicus  dies.  Agrippina's  agitation  and  distress. 

too  liot.  It  had  been  purposely  made  bo. 
He  gave  it  back  to  the  attendant  to  be 
cooled.  The  attendant  took  it  to  the  pitcher, 
and  cooled  it  with  the  poisoned  water,  and 
then  gave  it  back  again  to  Britannicus  with- 
out asking  the  taster  to  taste  it  again.  Britan- 
nicus drank  the  broth.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
fatal  consequences  ensued.  The  unhappy 
victim  sank  suddenly  down  in  a  fainting  fit. 
His  eyes  became  fixed,  his  limbs  were  par- 
alyzed, his  breathing  was  short  and  convul- 
sive. The  attendants  rushed  toward  him  to 
render  him  assistance,  but  his  life  w^as  fast 
ebbing  away,  and  before  they  could  recover 
from  the  shock  which  his  sudden  illness  occa- 
sioned them,  they  found  that  he  had  ceased 
to  breathe. 

The  event  produced,  of  course,  great  excite- 
ment and  commotion  throughout  the  palace. 
Agrippina  was  immediately  summoned,  and 
as  she  stood  over  the  dying  child  she  was 
overwhelmed  with  terror  and  distress.  Nero, 
on  the  other  hand,  appeared  wholly  unmoved. 
"  It  is  only  one  of  his  epileptic  fits,"  said  he. 
"  Britannicus  has  been  accustomed  to  them 
from  infancy.     He  will  soon  recover." 

As  soon,  howevei*,  as  there  was  no  longer 


A.D.  55.]  Beitannicus.  169 

Effect  produced  by  the  poison.  Remedy. 

any  room  to  question  that  Britannicus^  was 
dead,  Nero  began  immediately  to  make  prep- 
arations for  the  bm-ial  of  the  body.  The 
remorse  which,  notwithstanding  his  depravity, 
he  could  not  but  feel  at  having  perpetrated 
such  a  crime,  made  him  impatient  to  remove 
all  traces  and  memorials  of  it  from  his  sight; 
and,  besides,  he  was  afraid  to  wait  the  usual 
period  and  then  to  make  arrangements  for  a 
public  funeral,  lest  the  truth  in  respect  to 
the  death  of  Britannicus  might  be  suspected 
by  the  Romans,  and  a  party  be  formed  to  re- 
venge his  wrongs.  Any  tendency  of  this 
kind  which  might  exist  would  be  greatly 
favored,  he  knew,  by  the  excitement  of  a  pub- 
lic funeral.  He  determined,  therefore,  that 
the  body  should  be  immediately  buried. 

There  was  another  reason  still  for  this  dis- 
patch. It  seems  that  one  of  the  eifects  of  the 
species  of  poison  which  Locusta  had  adminis- 
tered was  that  the  body  of  the  victim  was 
turned  black  by  it  soon  after  death.  This  dis- 
coloration, in  fact,  began  to  appear  in  the  face 
of  the  corpse  of  Britannicus  before  the  time 
for  the  interment  arrived ;  and  Nero,  in  order 
to  guard  against  the  exposure  which  this 
phenomenon  threatened,  ordered  the  face  to 


170  Neeo.  [A.D.  55. 

The  interment  of  Britaniiicus.  The  storm. 

be  painted  of  the  natural  color,  by  means  of 
cosmetics,  such  as  the  ladies  of  the  court  were 
accustomed  to  use  in  those  days.  By  doing  this 
the  countenance  of  the  dead  was  restored  to 
its  proper  color,  and  afterward  underwent  no 
further  change.  Still  the  emperor  was  natu- 
rally impatient  to  have  the  body  interred. 

The  preparations  were  accordingly  made 
that  same  evening,  and  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  the  body  of  Britannicus  was  buried  in 
the  Field  of  Mars,  a  vast  parade-ground  in 
the  precincts  of  the  city.  In  addition  to  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  a  violent  storm  arose, 
and  the  rain  fell  in  torrents  while  the  inter- 
ment proceeded.  Yery  few,  therefore,  of  the 
people  of  the  city  knew  what  had  occurred 
until  the  following  day.  The  violence  of  the 
storm,  however,  which  promoted  in  one  re- 
spect the  accomplishment  of  Kero's  designs 
by  favoring  the  secrecy  of  the  interment,  in 
another  respect  operated  strongly  against  him, 
for  the  face  of  the  corpse  became  so  wet  with 
the  fallen  rain,  that  the  cosmetic  was  washed 
away  and  the  blackened  skin  was  brought  to 
view.  The  attendants  who  had  the  body  in 
charge  learned  thus  that  the  boy  had  been 
poisoned. 


A.D.  55,]  Britannicus.  171 


Nero's  proclumution. 


On  the  morning  after  the  funeral  the  em- 
peror issued  a  proclamation  announcing  the 
death  and  burial  of  his  brother,  and  calling 
upon  the  Roman  Senate  and  the  Roman 
people  for  their  sympathy  and  support  in  the 
bereavement  which  he  had  sustained. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  Britannicus  was 
fourteen  years  old. 


173  Neko.  [A.D.  55. 

Situation  of  Agrippina.  Her  state  of  rniiid. 


ClIAPTEE     YIII. 

The    Fate    of    Agkippina. 

"OWEVER  it  may  have  been  with  others, 
Agrippina  herself  was  not  deceived  by 
the  false  pretenses  which  Nero  offered  in  ex- 
l^lanation  of  his  brother's  death.  She  under- 
stood the  case  too  well,  and  the  event  filled 
her  mind  with  a  tumnlt  of  conflicting  emo- 
tions. Notwithstanding  the  terrible  quarrels 
which  had  disturbed  her  intercourse  with  the 
emperor,  he  was  still  her  son, — her  first-born 
son, — and  she  loved  him  as  such,  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  resentment  and  hostility  which 
her  disappointed  ambition  from  time  to  time 
awakened  in  her  mind.  Her  ambition  was 
now  more  bitterly  disappointed  than  ever. 
In  the  death  of  Britannicus  the  last  link  of 
her  power  over  Nero  seemed  to  be  forever 
sundered.  The  hand  by  which  he  had  fallen 
was  still  that  of  her  son, — a  son  to  whom  she 
could  not  but  cling  with  maternal  affection, 
while  she  felt  deeply  wounded  at  what  she 


A.D.  55.]     Fate  OF  Ageippina.  173 

Nero's  views  in  respect  to  his  mother. 

considered  his  cruel  ingratitude  toward  her, 
and  vexed  and  maddened  at  finding  herself 
so  hopelessly  circumvented  in  all  her  schemes. 

As  for  Nero  himself,  he  had  no  longer  any 
hope  or  expectation  of  being  on  good  terms 
with  his  mother  again.  He  saw  clearly  that 
her  schemes  and  plans  were  wholly  incom- 
patible with  his,  and  that  in  order  to  secure 
the  prosperous  accomplishment  of  his  own 
designs  he  must  now  finish  the  work  that  he 
had  begun,  and  curtail  and  restrict  his  mo- 
ther's influence  by  every  means  in  his  power. 
Other  persons  he  attempted  to  conciliate. 
He  made  splendid  presents  to  the  leading 
men  of  Rome,  as  bribes  to  prevent  their  insti- 
tuting inquiries  in  respect  to  the  death  of 
Britannicus.  To  some  he  gave  landed  es- 
tates, to  others  sums  of  money,  and  others 
still  he  advanced  to  high  offices  of  civil  or 
military  command.  Those  whom  he  most 
feared  he  removed  from  Home,  by  giving 
them  honorable  and  lucrative  appointments  in 
distant  provinces. 

In  the  mean  time  Agrippina  herself  was 
not  idle.  As  soon  as  she  recovered  from  the 
first  shock  which  the  death  of  Britannicus  had 
occasioned  her,  she  began  to  think  of  revenge. 


174  Nero.  [A.D.  55. 

Plans  nnd  measures  adopted  by  Agrippina. 

Within  the  limits  and  restrictions  which  the 
suspicion  and  vigilance  of  Nero  imposed  upon 
her,  she  formed  a  small  circle  of  friends  and 
adherents,  and  sought  out,  diligently,  though 
secretl}^,  all  whom  she  supposed  to  be  disaf- 
fected to  the  government  of  Nero.  She  at- 
tached herself  particularly  to  Octavia,  who, . 
being  the  daughter  of  Claudius,  succeeded 
now,  on  the  death  of  Britannicus,  to  whatever 
hereditary  rights  had  been  vested  in  him. 
She  collected  money,  so  far  as  she  had  power 
to  do  so,  from  all  the  resources  which  remain- 
ed to  her,  and  she  availed  herself  of  every 
opportunity  to  cultivate  the  acquaintance,  and 
court  the  favor,  of  all  such  officers  of  the  ar- 
my as  were  accessible  to  her  influence.  In  a 
word,  she  seemed  to  be  meditating  some  se- 
cret scheme  for  retrieving  her  fallen  fortunes, 
— and  Nero,  who  watched  all  her  motions 
with  a  jealous  and  suspicious  eye,  began  to 
be  alarmed,  not  knowing  to  what  desperate 
extremes  her  resentment  and  ambition  might 
urge  her. 

Up  to  this  time  Agrippina  had  lived  in  the 
imperial  palace  with  Nero,  forming,  with  her 
retinue,  a  part  of  his  household,  and  sharing 
of  course,  in  some  sense,  the  official  honors 


A.D.  55.]     Fate  of  Agrippina.  175 

Nero  establishes  his  mother  as  a  private  lady, 

paid  to  him.  JSTero  now  concluded,  however, 
that  he  would  remove  her  from  this  position 
and  give  her  a  separate  establishment  of  her 
own, — making  it  corresj)ond  in  its  appoint- 
ments with  the  secondary  and  subordinate 
station  to  which  he  intended  thenceforth  to 
confine  her.  He  accordingly  assigned  to  her 
a  certain  mansion  in  the  city  M^hich  had  for 
merly  been  occupied  by  some  branch  of  the 
imperial  family,  and  removed  her  to  it,  with 
all  her  attendants.  He  dismissed,  however, 
from  her  service,  under  various  pretexts,  such 
officers  and  adherents  as  he  supposed  were 
most  devoted  to  her  interests  and  most  dis- 
posed to  join  with  her  in  plots  and  conspira- 
cies against  him.  The  places  of  those  whom 
he  thus  superseded  were  supplied  by  men  on 
whom  he  could  rely  for  subserviency  to  him. 
He  diminished  too  the  number  of  Agrippina's 
attendants  and  guards  ;  he  withdrew  the  sen- 
tinels that  had  been  accustomed  to  guard  the 
gates  of  her  apartments,  and  dismissed  a  cer- 
tain corps  of  German  soldiers  that  had  hither- 
to served  under  her  command,  as  a  sort  of  life- 
guard. In  a  word  he  removed  her  from  the 
scenes  of  imperial  pomp  and  splendor  in 
which  she  had  been  accustomed  to  move,  and 


176  Nero.  [A.D.  55. 

Agrippina  finds  herself  forsaken  and  friendless. 

established  her  instead  in  the  position  of  a 
j)rivate  Roman  lady. 

The  unhappy  Agrij^pina  soon  found  that 
this  change  in  her  position  made  a  great 
change  in  respect  to  the  degree  of  considera- 
tion and  regard  which  was  bestowed  upon  her 
by  the  public.  The  circle  of  her  adherents 
and  friends  was  gradually  diminished.  Iler- 
visitors  were  few.  The  emperor  himself  went 
sometimes  to  see  his  mother,  but  he  came  al- 
ways attended  with  a  retinue,  and  after  a 
brief  and  formal  interview,  he  retired  as  cer- 
emoniously as  he  came, — thus  giving  to  his 
visit  the  character  simply  of  a  duty  of  state 
etiquette.  In  a  word,  Agrippina  found  her- 
self forsaken  and  friendless,  and  her  mind 
gradually  sank  into  a  condition  of  hopeless 
despondency,  vexation  and  chagrin. 

Things  continued  in  this  state  for  some  time 
until  at  length  one  night  when  Nero  had  been 
drinking  and  carousing  at  a  banquet  in  his 
palace,  a  well-known  courtier  named  Paris, 
one  of  the  principal  of  Nero's  companions 
and  favorites,  came  into  the  apartment  and 
informed  the  emperor  with  a  countenance  ex- 
pressive of  great  conceni,  that  he  had  tidings 
of  the  most  serious  moment  to  communicate 


A.D.  55-]     Fate  of  Ageippina.  177 

A  plot  discovered.  Statement  of  Pur  ia. 

to  hiin.  Nero  withdrew  from  the  scene  of 
festiv'ity  to  receive  the  communication,  and 
was  informed  by  Paris,  that  a  discovery  had 
])een  made  of  a  deep-laid  and.  dangerous  phjt, 
which  Agrippina  and  certain  accomplices  of 
hers  had  formed-  The  object  of  the  cons^^ir- 
ators,  as  Paris  alledged,  was  to  depose  Nero, 
and  raise  a  certain  descendant  of  Augustus 
Cassar,  named  Plautus,  to  the  sujDreme  com- 
mand, in  his  stead.  This  revolution  being 
effected,  Agrippina  was  to  marry  the  new  em- 
per.jr,  and  thus  be  restored  to  her  former 
power- 

The  statement  which  Paris  made  was  very 
full  in  all  its  details-  The  names  of  the  chief 
conspirators  w^ere  given,  and  all  the  plans  ex- 
plained. The  chief  witness  on  whose  author- 
ity the  charge  was  made,  was  a  celebrated 
woman  of  the  court,  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance and  visitor  of  Agrippina,  named  Silana. 
Silana  and  Agrippina  had  been  very  warm 
friends,  but  a  terrible  quarrel  had  recently 
broken  out  between  them,  in  consequence  of 
some  interference  on  the  part  of  Agrippina, 
to  prevent  a  marriage,  which  had  been  par- 
tially arranged  between  Silana  and  a  distin- 
guished Koman  citizen,  from  being  carried 
M 


178  Nero.  [A.D.  55. 

Nero  is  greatly  alarmed.  A  council  called. 

into  effect.  Silana  had  been  exasperated  by 
this  ill  office,  and  the  revelation  which  she 
had  made  had  been  the  result.  Whether 
such  a  conspiracy  had  really  been  formed, 
and  Silana  had  been  induced  to  betray  the 
secret  in  consequence  of  the  injury  which 
Agrippina  had  inflicted  upon  her  in  prevent- 
ing her  marriage,  or  whether  she  wholly  in- 
vented the  story  under  the  imjjulse  of  a  des- 
perate revenge,  was  iiever  fully  known.  The 
historians  of  the  time  incline  to  the  latter 
opinion. 

However  this  may  be,  l^Tero  was  greatly 
alarmed  at  the  communication  which  Paris 
made  to  him.  He  immediately  abandoned 
his  festivities  and  carousals,  dismissed  his 
guests,  and  called  a  council  of  his  most  confi- 
dential advisers,  to  consider  what  was  to  be 
done.  He  stated  the  case  to  this  council,  and 
announced  it  as  his  determination  immedi- 
ately to  pronounce  sentence  of  death  upon  his 
mother  and  upon  Plautus,  and  to  send  officers 
at  once  to  execute  the  decree,  as  the  first  step 
to  be  taken.  Burrus,  however,  strongly  dis- 
^suaded  him  from  so  rash  a  proceeding. 
"  These  are  only  charges,"  said  he,  "  at  pres- 
ent.    We  have  yet  no  proofs.     An  informer 


A.D.  55.]     Fate  OF  Ageippina.  179 


Biirrus  defends  Agrippino. 


has  come  to  you  at  dead  of  night  with  this 
wild  and  improbable  story,  and  if  we  take  it 
for  granted  at  once  that  it  is  true,  and  allow 
ourselves  to  act  under  the  influence  of  excite- 
ment and  alarm,  we  should  afterward  regret 
our  rashness  when  the  consequences  could 
not  be  retrieved.  Besides,  Agrippina  is  your 
mother  ;  and  as  it  is  the  right  of  the  humblest 
person  in  the  commonwealth,  when  accused 
of  crime,  to  be  heard  in  answer  to  the  accusa- 
tion, it  would  be  an  atrocious  crime  to  de- 
prive the  mother  of  the  emperor  of  that  privi- 
lege. Postpone,  therefore,  pronouncing  judg- 
ment in  this  case  until  we  can  learn  the  facts 
more  certainly.  I  pledge  myself  to  execute 
sentence  of  death  on  Agrippina,  if  after  a  fair 
hearing,  this  charge  is  proved  against  her." 

By  such  arguments  and  remonstrances  as 
these  Nero  was  in  some  degree  appeased,  and 
it  was  determined  to  postpone  taking  any  de- 
cisive action  in  the  emergency  until  the  morn- 
ing. As  soon  as  it  was  day,  Burrus  and 
Seneca,  accompanied  by  several  attendants, 
who  were  to  act  as  witnesses  of  the  interview, 
were  dispatched  to  the  house  of  Agrippina  to 
lay  the  charge  before  her  and  to  hear  what 
she  had  to  say. 


180  Nero.  [A.D.  56. 

AgiLppina's  indignant  answer  to  the  charge. 

Agrippina  was  at  first  somewhat  astonished 
at  being  summoned  at  so  early  an  hour  to 
give  audience  to  so  foi'midable  a  commission ; 
hut  her  proud  spirit  had  become  so  fierce  and 
desperate  under  the  treatment  whicli  she  had 
received  .from  her  son,  that  she  was  very 
slightly  sensible  to  fear.  She  listened,  there- 
fore, to  the  heavy  charge  which  Burrus 
brought  against  her,  undismayed ;  and  when 
he  paused  to  hear  her  reply,  instead  of  excus- 
ing and  defending  herself,  and  deprecating 
the  emperor's  displeasure,  she  commenced 
the  most  severe  and  angry  invectives  against 
her  son,  for  listening  for  a  moment  to  calum- 
nies against  her  so  wild  and  improbable. 
That  Silana,  who  was,  as  she  said,  a  dissolute 
and  unprincipled  woman,  and  who,  conse- 
quently, could  have  no  idea  of  the  strength 
and  the  fidelity  of  maternal  affection,  should 
think  it  possible  that  a  mother  could  form 
plots  and  conspiracies  against  an  only  son, 
was  not  strange ;  but  that  Nero  himself,  for 
whom  she  had  made  such  exertions  and  in- 
curred such  dangers,  and  to  whose  interests 
she  had  surrendered  and  sacrificed  every 
thing  that  could  be  dear  to  the  heart  of  a 
woman — could  believe  such  tales,  and  actu- 


A.D.  56.]     Fate  OF  Agrippina.  ISl 

Return  of  the  commissioners  to  Nero. 

ally  conceive  the  design  of  murdering  his 
mother  on  tlie  faith  of  them,  was  not  to  be 
endm'ed.  "Does  not  he  know  well,"  said 
she,  in  a  voice  almost  inarticulate  with  ex- 
citement and  indignation,  "that,  if  by  any 
means,  Britannicus,  or  Plautus,  or  9,ny  other 
man  were  to  be  raised  to  power,  my  life  would 
be  immediately  forfeited  in  consequence  of 
what  I  have  already  done  for  him  ?  Can  he 
imagine,  after  the  deep  and  desperate  crimes 
which  I  have  committed  for  his  sake,  in  order 
that  I  might  rai^e  him  to  his  present  power, 
that  I  could  seal  my  own  destruction  by 
bringing  forward  any  one  of  his  rivals  and 
enemies  to  his  place  ?  Go  back  and  tell  him 
this,  and  say,  moreover,  that  I  demand  an 
audience  of  him.  I  am  his  mother ;  and  I 
have  a  right  to  expect  that  he  shall  see  me 
himself,  and  hear  what  I  have  to  say." 

The  commissioners  whom  Nero  had  sent 
with  the  accusations,  were  somewhat  aston- 
ished at  receiving  these  angry  denunciations 
and  invectives  in  reply,  instead  of  the  meek 
and  faltering  defense  which  they  had  ex- 
pected. They  were  overawed,  too,  by  the 
lofty  and  passionate  energy  with  which  Agrip- 
pina had  spoken.     They  answered  her  with 


182  Nero.  [A.D.  56. 

Nero  is  convinced  of  his  mother's  innocence. 

soothing  and  conciliatory  words,  and  then 
went  back  to  Nero,  and  reported  the  result  of 
their  interview. 

Nero  consented  to  see  his  mother.  In  his 
presence  she  assumed  the  same  tone  of  j^roud 
and  injured  innocence,  that  had  character- 
ized her  interview  with  the  messengers.  She 
scorned  to  enter  into  any  vindication  of  her- 
self ;  but  assumed  that  she  was  innocent,  and 
demanded  that  her  accusers  should  be  pun- 
ished as  persons  guilty  of  the  most  atrocious 
calumny.  Nero  was  convinced  of  her  inno- 
cence, and  yielded  to  her  demands.  Silana 
and  two  others  of  her  accusers,  were  banished 
from  Rome.  Another  still  was  punished  with 
death. 

Thus  a  sort  of  temporary  and  imperfect 
peace  was  once  more  established  between 
Nero  and  his  mother. 

This  state  of  things  continued  for  about  the 
space  of  three  years.  During  this  time,  the 
public  affaii*s  of  the  empire,  as  conducted  by 
the  ministers  of  state  and  the  military  gene- 
rals, to  whom  Nero  intrusted  them,  went  on 
with  tolerable  prosperity  and  success,  while 
in  every  thing  that  related  to  personal  conduct 
and  character,  the  condition  of  the  emperor 


A.D.  59.]     Fate  OF  Agrippina.  183 

Nero's  course  of  life.  Riots  in  the  streets. 


was  becoming  every  day  more  and  more  de- 
plorable, lie  spent  his  days  in  sloth  and 
sensual  stupor,  and  his  nights  in  the  wildest 
riot  and  debauchery.  He  used  to  disguise 
himself  as  a  slave,  and  sally  forth  at  mid- 
night with  a  party  of  his  companions  simi- 
larly attired,  into  the  streets  of  the  city,  dis- 
turbing the  night  with  riot  and  noise.  Some- 
times they  would  go  out  at  an  earlier  hour, — 
while  the  people  were  in  the  streets  and  the 
shops  were  open, — and  amuse  themselves  with 
seizing  the  goods  and  merchandise  that  they 
found  offered  for  sale,  and  assaulting  all  that 
came  in  their  way.  In  these  frolics,  the  em- 
peror and  his  party  were  met  sometimes  by 
other  parties  ;  and  in  the  brawls  which  ensued 
ISTero  was  frequently  handled  very  roughly — ■ 
his  opponents  not  knowing  who  he  was.  At 
one  time  he  was  knocked  down  and  very  seri- 
ously wounded ;  and  in  consequence  of  this 
adventure,  his  face  was  for  a  long  time  dis- 
figured with  a  scar. 

Although  in  these  orgies"  Kero  went  gene- 
rally in  disguise,  yet  as  he  and  his  companions 
were  accustomed  afterward  to  boast  of  their 
exploits,  it  soon  became  generally  known  to 
the  people  of  the  city  that  their  young  emperor 


184  Neeo.  [A.D.  59. 

Agrippina  lives  in  seclusion. 

was  in  the  habit  of  mingling  in  these  midnight 
brawls.  Of  course  every  wild  and  dissolute 
young  man  in  Rome  was  fired  with  an  ambi- 
tion to  imitate  the  example  set  him  by  so 
exalted  an  authority.  Midnight  riots  became 
the  fashion.  As  the  parties  grew  larger,  the 
brawls  wliich  occurred  in  the  streets  became 
more  and  more  serious,  until  at  last  Nero  was 
accustomed  to  take  with  him  a  gang  of  sol- 
diers and  gladiators  in  disguise,  who  were  in- 
structed to  follow  him  within  call,  so  as  to  be 
ready  to  come  up  instantly  to  his  aid  when- 
ever he  should  require  their  assistance. 

Year  after  year  passed  away  in  this  man- 
ner, Nero  abandoning  himself  all  the  time 
to  the  grossest  sensual  pleasures,  and  growing 
more  and  more  reckless  and  desperate  every 
day.  His  mother  lived  during  this  period  in 
comparative  seclusion.  She  attempted  to  ex- 
ercise some  little  restraint  over  her  son,  but 
without  success.  She'  attached  herself  strongly 
to  Octavia,  the  wife  of  Nero,  and  would  have 
defended  her,  if  she  could,  from  the  injuries 
and  wrongs  which  the  conduct  of  Nero  as  a 
husband  heaped  up^n  her. 

At  length  the  young  emperor,  in  following 
his  round  of  vicious  indulsrence,  formed  an 


A.I).  59.]     Fate  OF  Agrippina.  185 

Poppaea.  Her  influence  over  Nero. 

intimacy  with  a  certain  lady  of  the  court 
named  Poppaea,  the  wife  of  Otho,  one  of 
Nero's  companions  in  pleasure.  Nero  sent 
Otho  away  on  some  distant  appointment,  in 
order  that  he  might  enjoy  the  society  of 
Poppaea  without  restraint.  At  length  Poppaea 
gained  so  great  an  ascendency  over  the  mind 
of  the  emperor  as  to  seduce  him  entirely  away 
from  his  duty  to  his  wife,  and  she  proposed 
that  they  should  both  be  divorced  and  then 
marry  one  another.  Nero  was  inclined  to  ac- 
cede to  this  proposal,  but  Agrippina  strongly 
opposed  it.  For  a  time  Nero  hesitated  be- 
tween the  influence  of  Agrippina  and  the 
sentiment  of  duty,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
enticements  of  Poppaea  on  the  other.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  influence  of  her  blandishments 
and  smiles,  she  attempted  to  act  upon  Nero's 
boyish  pride  by  taunting  him  with  what  she 
called  his  degrading  and  unmanly  subjection 
to  his  mother.  How  long,  she  asked,  was  he 
to  remain  like  a  child  under  maternal  tute- 
lage ?  She  wondered  how  he  could  endure 
so  ignoble  a  bondage.  He  was  in  name  and 
position,  she  said,  a  mighty  monarch,  reign^ 
ing  absolutely  over  half  the  world, — but  in 
actual  fact  he  was  a  mere  nursery  boy,  who 


1S(5  Neeo.  [A.D.  69. 

Her  taunts  and  reproaches.  Effect  of  ihem  on  Nero's  mind. 

could  do  nothing  without  his  mother's  leave. 
She  was  ashamed,  she  said,  to  see  him  in 
so  humiliating  a  condition ;  and  unless  he 
would  take  some  vigorous  measures  to  free 
himself  from  his  chains,  she  declared  that  she 
would  leave  him  forever,  and  ^o  with  her 
husband  to  some  distant  quarter  of  the  world 
where  she  could  no  longer  be  a  witness  of  his 
disgrace. 

The  effect  of  these  taunts  upon  the  mind  of 
Nero  was  verj  much  heightened  by  the  proud 
and  imperious  spirit  which  his  mother  mani- 
fested toward  him,  and  which  seemed  to  be- 
come more  and  more  stern  and  severe,  through 
the  growing  desperation  which  the  conduct 
of  her  son  and  her  own  hopeless  condition 
seemed  to  awaken  in  her  mind.  The  quarrel, 
in  a  word,  between  the  emperor  and  his 
mother  grew  more  and  more  inveterate  and 
hopeless  every  day.  At  length  he  shunned 
her  entirely,  and  finally,  every  remaining 
spark  of  filial  duty  having  become  extin- 
guished, he  began  to  meditate  some  secret 
plan  of  removing  her  out  of  his  way. 

He  revolved  various  projects  for  accom- 
plishing this  purpose,  in  his  mind.  He  did 
not  dare  to  employ  open  violence,  as  he  had 


A.D.  60.]     Fate  OF  Agkippina.  187 

Nero  begins  to  desire  the  death  of  his  mother. 

no  charge  against  his  mother  to  justify  a 
criminal  sentence  against  her ;  and  he  dreaded 
the  effect  upon  the  public  mind  which  would 
be  produced  by  the  spectacle  of  so  imnatural 
a  deed  as  the  execution  of  a  mother  by  com- 
mand of  her  son.  He  could  not  trust  to  poi- 
son. Agrippina  was  perfectly  familiar  with 
every  thing  relating  to  the  poisoning  art,  and 
would  doubtless  be  fully  on  her  guard  against 
any  attempt  of  that  kind  that  he  might  make. 
Besides,  he  supposed,  that  by  means  of  cer- 
tain antidotes  which  she  was  accustomed  to 
use,  her  system  was  permanently  fortified 
against  the  action  of  every  species  of  poison. 

"While  Nero  was  revolving  these  things  in 
his  mind,  the  occasion  occurred  for  a  great 
naval  celebration  at  Baiae,  a  beautiful  bay 
south  of  Kome,  near  what  is  now  the  bay  of 
Naples.  Baias  was  celebrated  in  ancient 
times,  as  it  is  in  fact  now,  for  the  beauty  of 
its  situation,  and  it  was  a  place  of  great  resort 
for  the  Roman  nobility.  There  was  a  small, 
but  well-built  town  at  the  head  of  the  bay, 
and  the  hills  and  valleys  in  the  vicinity,  as 
well  as  every  headland  and  promontory  along 
the  shore,  were  ornamented  with  villas  and 
coimtry-seats,  which  were  occupied  as  summer 


188  Neeo.  [A.D.  60. 

Anicetiis.  Great  naval  celebration  at  Misenum. 

residences  by  the  Avealthy  people  of  the  city. 
Baiffi  was  also  a  great  naval  station,  and  there 
was  at  this  time  a  fleet  stationed  there, — or 
rather  at  the  promontory  of  Misenum,  a  few 
miles  beyond, — under  the  command  of  one  of 
Nero's  confidential  servants,  named  Anicetns. 
The  naval  celebration  was  to_  take  place  in 
connection  with  this  fleet.  It  was  an  annual 
festival,  and  was  to  continue  five  days. 

Anicetus  had  been  a  personal  attendant 
upon  l^ero  in  his  infancy,  and  had  lived  al- 
ways in  habits  of  great  intimacy  with  him. 
For  some  reason  or  other,  too,  he  was  a  great 
enemy  to  Agrippina,  having  been  always  ac- 
customed, when  Nero  was  a  child,  to  take  his 
part  in  the  little  contests  which  had  arisen, 
from  time  to  time,  between  him  and  his 
mother.  Anicetus  was  of  course  prepared  to 
sympathize  very  readily  with  Nero  in  the 
hatred  which  he  now  cherished  toward  Agrip- 
pina, and  when  he  learned  that  Nero  was  de- 
sirous of  devising  some  means  of  accomplish- 
ing her  death,  he  formed  a  plan  which  he 
said  would  effect  the  purpose  very  safely. 
He  proposed  to  invite  Agrippina  to  Baia^,  and 
then,  in  the  course  of  the  ceremonies  and 
manoeuvers  connected  \k^ith  the  naval  spec- 


A'.D.  60.]     Fate  OF  Agrippina.  189 

Proposal  of  Anicatua.  Nero  is  pleased  with  it. 

tacle,  to  take  her  out  upon  the  bay  in  a  barge 
or  galley.  He  would  have  the  barge  so  con- 
structed, he  said,  that  it  should  go  to  pieces 
at  sea,  making  arrangements  beforehand  for 
saving  the  liv-es  of  the  others,  but  leaving 
Agrippina  to  be  drowned. 

Nero  was  greatly  pleased  with  this  device, 
and  determined  at  once  to  adopt  the  plan.  In 
order  to  open  the  way  for  carrying  it  into  ef- 
fect, he  pretended,  when  the  time  for  the  fes- 
tival drew  nigh,  that  he  desired  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  his  mother,  and  that  he  was  ready 
now  to  fall  in  with  her  wishes  and  plans.  He 
begged  her  to  forget  all  his  past  unkindness 
to  her,  and  assuring  her  that  his  feelings  to- 
ward her  were  now  wholly  changed,  he  lav- 
ished upon  her  expressions  of  the  tenderest 
regard.  A  mother  is  always  very  easily  de- 
ceived by  such  protestations  on  the  part  of  a 
wayward  son,  and  Agrippina  believed  all  that 
Nero  said  to  her.  In  a  word,  the  reconciliation 
seemed  to  be  complete. 

At  length,  when  the  time  for  the  naval  fes- 
tival drew  nigh,  Nero,  who  was  then  at  Baiie, 
sent  an  invitation  to  his  mother  to  come  and 
join  him  in  witnessing  the  spectacle.  Agrip- 
pina readily  consented  to  accept  the  invitu 


190  Nero.  [A.D.  60. 

Arrangements  I'ur  carrying  it  into  effect. 

tion.  She  was  at  this  time  at  Antium,  the 
place,  it  will  be  recollected,  where  Nero  was 
born.  She  accordingly  set  sail  from  this  place 
in  her  own  galley,  and  proceeded  to  the 
southward.  She  landed  at  one  of  the  villas 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Baioe.  Nero  was  ready 
upon  the  shore  to  meet  her.  He  received  her 
with  every  demonstration  of  respect  and  af- 
fection. He  had  provided  quarters  for  her  at 
Baise,  and  there  was  a  splendid  barge  ready 
to  convey  her  thither ;  the  plan  being  that 
she  should  embark  on  board  this  barge,  and 
leave  her  own  galley, — that  is  the  one  by 
which  she  had  come  in  from  sea, — at  anchor 
at  the  villa  where  she  landed.  The  barge  in 
which  Agrippina  was  thus  invited  to  embark, 
was  the  treacherous  trap  that  Anicetus  had 
contrived  for  her  destruction.  It  was,  how- 
ever, to  all  appearance,  a  very  splendid  ves- 
sel, being  very  richly  and  beautifully  deco- 
rated, as  if  expressly  intended  to  do  honor  to 
the  distinguished  passenger  whom  it  was  de- 
signed to  convey. 

Agrippina,  however,  did  not  seem  inclined 
to  go  in  the  barge.  She  preferred  proceeding 
to  Baiae  by  land.  Perhaps,  notwithstanding 
Nero's   apparent   friendliness,    she    felt  still 


A.D.  60.j     Fate  OF  Agkippina.  191 


Agrippiiia  goes  to  Baiee. 


some  misgivings,  and  was  afraid  to  trust  her- 
self entirely  to  his  power, — or  perhaps  she 
preferred  to  finish  her  journey  by  land  only 
because,  in  making  the  passage  from  Antium, 
she  had  become  tired  of  the  sea.  However 
this  may  have  been,  Nero  acquiesced  at  once 
in  her  decision,  and  provided  a  sort  of  sedan 
for  conveying  her  to  Baiaj  by  land.  In  this 
sedan  she  was  carried  accordingly,  by  bearers, 
to  Baise,  and  there  lodged  in  the  apartments 
provided  for  her. 

No  favorable  opportunity  occurred  for 
taking  Agrippina  out  upon  the  water  until 
the  time  arrived  for  her  return  to  Antium. 
During  the  time  of  her  stay  at  Baise,  Nero 
devoted  himself  to  her  with  the  most  assid- 
uous attention.  He  prepared  magnificent 
banquets  for  her,  and  entertained  her  with  a 
great  variety  of  amusements  and  diversions. 
In  his  conversation  he  sometimes  addressed 
her  with  a  familiar  playfulness  and  gayety, 
and  at  other  times  he  sought  occasions  to  dis- 
course with  her  seriously  on  jjublic  afiairs,  in 
a  private  and  confidential  manner.  Agrip- 
pina was  completely  deceived  by  these  indi- 
cations, and  her  heart  was  fiUed  with  pride 


192  Neeo.  [A.D.60. 

Preparations  for  destroying  Agrippina. 

and  joy  at  the  thought  that  she  had  regained 
the  affection  and  confidence  of  her  son. 

Nero  and  Anicetus  determined  finally  to 
put  their  plan  into  execution  by  inducing 
Agrippina  to  embark  on  board  their  bai-ge  in 
returning  to  Antium,  when  the  time  should 
arrive,  instead  of  going  back  in  her  own  ves- 
sel. Their  other  attempts  to  induce  her  to  go 
out  upon  the  water  had  failed,  and  this  was 
the  only  opportunity  that  now  remained.  It 
was  desirable  that  this  embarkation  should 
take  place  in  the  night,  as  the  deed  which 
they  were  contemplating  could  be  more  effec- 
tually accomplished  under  the  cover  of  the 
darkness.  Accordingly,  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  day  on  M^hich  Agrippina  was  to  return, 
Nero  prepared  a  banquet  for  her,  and  he  pro- 
tracted the  festivities  and  entertainments 
which  attended  it  imtil  late  in  the  evening,  so 
that  it  was  wholly  dark  before  his  mother 
^ould  take  her  leave.  Anicetus  then  contriv- 
ed to  have  one  of  the  vessels  of  his  fleet 
run  against  the  galley  in  which  Agrippina 
had  come  from  Antium,  as  it  lay  at  anchor 
near  the  shore  at  the  place  where  she  had 
landed.  The  galley  was  broken  down  and 
disabled  by  the  collision.     Anicetus  came  to 


A.D.  60.]     Fate  OF  Ageippina.  193 

Nero  bids  his  mother  an  aOectioiuite  farewell. 

Agrippina  to  report  the  accident,  with  a  coun- 
tenance expressive  of  much  concern ;  but 
added  that  the  barge  which  the  emperor  had 
prepared  for  her  was  at  her  service,  and  pro- 
posed to  substitute  that  in  the  place  of  the 
one  which  had  been  injured.  There  seemed 
to  be  no  other  alternative,  and  Agrippina, 
after  taking  a  very  affectionate  leave  of  her 
son,  went  gaylj,  and  wholly  unconscious  of 
danger,  on  board  the  beautiful  but  treacher- 
ous vessel. 

It  was  observed  that  l^ero  exhibited  an  ex- 
treme degree  of  tender  regard  for  his  mother 
in  bidding  her  farewell  on  this  occasion.  He 
hung  upon  her  neck  a  long  time,  and  kissed 
her  again  and  again,  detaining  her  by  these 
endearments  on  the  shore,  as  if  reluctant  to 
let  her  go.  After  Agrippina's  death  this 
scene  was  remembered  by  those  who  witness- 
ed it,  but  in  reflecting  upon  it  they  could  not 
decide  whether  these  tokens  of  aflection  were 
all  assumed,  as  belonging  to  the  part  which 
he  was  so  hypocritically  acting,  or  whether  he 
really  felt  at  the  last  moment  some  lilial  re- 
lentings,  which  led  him  to  detain  his  mother 
for  a  time  on  the  brink  of  the  pit  which  he 
had  been  preparing  for  her  destruction.  From 


194:  I^EEO.  [A.D.  60. 

Agrippina  and  her  attendant  on  board  the  barge. 

all,  however,  that  we  now  know  in  respect  to 
the  personal  character  which  Nero  had  formed 
at  this  period,  it  is  probable  that  the  former 
is  the  correct  supposition. 

The  plot,  dextrous  as  the  contrivance  of  it 
had  been,  was  not  destined  to  succeed.  The 
vessel  moved  gently  from  the  shore,  rowed  by 
the  mariners.  It  was  a  clear  starlight  night. 
The  sea  was  smooth,  and  the  air  was  calm. 
Agrippina  took  her  place  upon  a  couch  which 
had  been  arranged  for  her,  under  a  sort  of 
cano]3y  or  awning,  the  frame-work  of  which, 
above,  had  been  secretly  loaded  with  lead. 
She  was  attended  here  by  one  of  her  ladies 
named  Aceronia  Polla,  who  lay  at  her  mis- 
tress's feet,  and  entertained  her  with  conver- 
sation as  the  boat  glided  along  on  its  way. 
TJiey  talked  of  Nero — of  the  kind  attentions 
which  he  had  been  paying  to  Agrippina,  and 
of  the  various  advantages  which  were  to  fol- 
low from  the  reconciliation  which  had  been 
so  happily  eflected.  In  this  manner  the  hours 
passed  away,  and  the  barge  went  on  until  it 
reached  the  place  which  had  been  determined 
upon  for  breaking  it  down  and  casting  Agrip- 
pina into  the  sea.  The  spot  which  had  been 
chosen  was  so  near  the  land  as  to  allow  of  the 


A.D.  60.]     Fate  OF  Ageippina.  195 

The  result  of  the  attempt.  Narrow  escape  ot  Agrippina. 

escape  of  the  mariners  by  swimming,  but  yet 
remote  enough,  as  was  supposed,  to  make 
Agrij)pina's  destruction  sure.  A  few  of  the 
mariners  were  in  the  secret,  and  were  in  some 
degree  prepared  for  what  was  to  come.  Others 
knew  nothing,  and  were  expected  to  save 
themselves  as  they  best  could,  when  they 
should  find  themselves  cast  into  the  sea. 

At  a  given  signal  the  fastenings  of  the  can- 
opy were  loosened,  and  the  loaded  struc- 
ture came  down  suddenly  with  a  heavy  crash, 
carrying  away  with  it  other  parts  of  the  vessel. 
One  man  was  crushed  under  the  weight  of  the 
falling  ruins,  and  instantly  killed.  Agrippina 
and  the  lady  in  waiting  upon  her  were  saved 
by  the  posts  of  the  bed  or  couch  on  which 
Agrippina  was  reclining,  which  happened  to 
be  in  such  a  position  that  they  held  up  the  im- 
pending mass  sufficiently  to  allow  the  ladies 
to  creep  out  from  beneath  it.  The  breaking 
down,  too,  of  the  deck  and  bulwarks  of  the 
barge  was  less  extensive  than  had  been  in- 
tended, so  that  Agrippina  not  only  escaj)ed 
being  crushed  by  the  ruins  but  she  also  saved 
herself  at  first  from  being  thrown  into  the  sea. 
The  men  then  who  were  in  the  secret  of  the 
plot  immediately  raised  a  great  cry  and  con- 


19G  Nero.  [A.D.  60. 

Agrippina  and  Aceronia  in  the  sea. 

fusion,  and  attempted  to  upset  the  barge  bj 
climbing  up  upon  one  side  of  it — wbile  the 
others,  who  did  not  understand  the  case,  did 
all  they  could  to  save  it.  In  the  mean  time 
the  noise  of  the  outcries  reached  the  shore, 
and  fishermen's  boats  began  to  put  off  with  a 
view  of  coming  to  the  rescue  of  the  distressed 
vessel.  Before  they  arrived,  however,  the 
boat  had  been  overturned,  Agrippina  and 
Aceronia  had  been  thrown  into  the  sea,  and 
the  men  who  were  in  the  secret  of  the  plot, 
taking  advantage  of  the  darkness  and  con- 
fusion, were  endeavoring  to  seal  the  fate  of 
their  victims,  by  beating  them  down  with 
poles  and  oars  as  they  struggled  in  the  water. 
These  efforts  succeeded  in  the  case  of  Ace- 
ronia, for  she  uttered  loud  and  continual  out- 
cries in  her  terror,  and  thus  drew  ujion  her- 
self the  blows  of  the  assassins.  Agrippina, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  the  presence  of  mind 
to  keep  silence.  She  received  one  heavy  blow 
upon  the  shoulder,  which  inflicted  a  serious 
wound.  In  other  respects  she  escaped  unin- 
jured, and  succeeded,  partly  through  the 
buoyancy  of  her  dress,  and  partly  by  the  ef- 
forts that  she  made  to  swim,  in  keeping  her- 
self afloat  until  she  was  taken  up  by  the  fish- 


A.D.  GO.]     Fate  of  Ageippin-a.  199 

Agrippiiia  escapes.  Her  message  to  Nero. 

ermeii  and  conveyed  to  the  shore.  She  was 
taken  to  a  villa  belonging  to  her,  which  was 
situated  not  far  from  the  place  where  the  dis- 
aster had  occurred. 

As  soon  as  Agrippina  had  recovered  a  little 
from  the  terror  and  excitement  of  this  scene, 
and  had  time  to  reflect  upon  the  circum- 
stances of  it,  she  was  convinced  that  what  had 
occurred  was  no  accident,  but  the  result  of  a 
deep-laid  design  to  destroy  her  life.  She, 
however,  thought  it  most  prudent  to  dissem- 
ble her  opinion  for  a  time.  As  soon  therefore 
as  she  had  safely  reached  her  villa,  and  her 
wound  had  been  dressed,  she  dispatclied  a 
messenger  to  Baias  to  inform  Kero  of  what 
had  occurred-  The  vessel  in  which  she  Iiad 
embarked  had  been  wrecked  at  sea,  she  said, 
and  she  had  narrowly  escaped  destruction. 
She  had  received  a  severe  hurt,  by  some  fall- 
ing spar,  but  had  at  length  safely  reached  her 
home  at  Antium.  She  begged,  however,  that 
her  son  would  not  come  to  see  her,  as  what 
she  needed  most  was  repose.  She  had  sent 
the  messenger,  she  said,  to  inform  him  of 
what  had  occurred  only  that  he  might  rejoice 
with  her  in  the  signal  interposition  of  divine 


200  Nero.  [A.D.  60. 

Nero's  alarm  on  hoaring  of  his  mother's  escape. 

providence  by  which  she  had  been  rescued 
from  so  imminent  a  danger. 

In  the  mean  time  Nero  was  waiting  impa- 
tiently and  anxiously  in  his  palace  at  Baise, 
for  the  arrival  of  a  messenger  from  Anicetus 
to  inform  him  that  his  plot  had  been  success- 
ful, and  that  his  mother  was  drowned.  Instead 
of  this  a  rumor  of  her  escape  reached  him 
some  time  before  Agrippina's  messenger  ar- 
rived, and  thrcAV  him  into  consternation. 
People  came  from  the  coast  and  informed 
him  that  the  barge  in  which  his  mother  had 
sailed  had  been  wrecked,  and  that  Agrippina 
had  narrowly  escaped  with  her  life.  The  par- 
ticulars were  not  fully  given  to  him,  but  he 
presumed  that  Agrippina  must  have  learned 
that  the  occurrence  was  the  result  of  a  delib- 
erate attempt  to  destroy  her,  and  he  was  con- 
sequently very  much  alarmed.  lie  dreaded 
the  desperate  spirit  of  resentment  and  revenge 
which  he  presumed  had  been  aroused  in  his 
mother's  mind. 

He  forth Avitli  sent  for  Burrus  and  Seneca, 
and  revealed  to  them  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  case.  He  made  the  most  bitter  accu- 
sations against  his  mother,  in  justification  of 
his  attempt  to  destroy  her.     He  had  long  been 


A.D.  60.]     Fate  OF  Agrippina.  201 

ConsuUation  with  Seneca  and  Burrus. 

convinced,  he  said,  that  there  could  be  no 
peace  or  safety  for  hira  as  long  as  she  lived, 
and  now,  at  all  events,  since  he  had  under- 
taken the  work  of  destroying  her  and  made 
the  attempt,  no  alternative  was  left  to  him  but 
to  go  on  and  finish  what  he  had  begim.  "She 
must  die  now,"  said  he,  "  or  she  will  most  as- 
suredly contrive  some  means  to  destroy  me." 

Seneca  and  Burrus  were  silent.  They 
knew  not  what  to  say.  They  saw  very  clearly 
that  a  crisis  had  arrived,  the  end  of  which 
would  be,  that  one  or  the  other  must  perish, 
and  consequently  the  only  question  for  them 
to  decide  was,  whether  the  victim  should  be 
the  mother  or  the  son.  At  length,  after  a 
long  and  solemn  pause,  Seneca  looked  to 
Burrus,  and  inquired  whether  the  soldiers 
under  his  command  could  be  relied  upon 
to  execute  death  upon  Agrippina.  Burrus 
shook  his  head.  The  soldiers,  he  said,  felt 
such  a  veneration  for  the  family  of  Germani- 
cus,  which  was  the  family  from  which  Agrip- 
pina had  sprung,  that  they  would  perform  no 
such  bloody  work  upon  any  representative  ot 
it.  "  Besides,"  said  he,  "  Anicetus  has  un- 
dertaken this  duty.  It  devolves  on  him  to 
finish  what  he  has  begun." 


202  I^EEO.  [A.D.  60. 

Anicetus  undertakes  to  finish  his  worl£. 

Anicetus  readily  undertook  the  task.  He 
had,  in  fact,  a  personal  interest  in  it ;  for, 
after  what  had  passed,  he  knew  well  that 
there  could  be  no  safety  for  him  while  Agrip- 
pina  lived.  Nero  seemed  overjoyed  at  find- 
ing Anicetus  so  ready  to  meet  his  wishes. 
"Be  prompt,"  said  he,  "in  doing  what  you 
have  to  do.  Take  with  you  whom  you  please 
to  assist  you.  If  you  accomplish  the  work,  I 
shall  consider  that  I  owe  my  empire  to  your 
fidelity." 

Anicetus,  having  thus  received  his  commis- 
sion, ordered  a  small  detachment  fi'om  the 
fleet  to  accompany  him,  and  proceeded  to  the 
villa  where  Agrippina  had  taken  refuge.  He 
found  a  crowd  of  country  people  assembled 
around  the  gates  of  the  villa.  They  had 
been  drawui  thither  by  the  tidings  of  the  dis- 
aster which  had  happened  to  Agrippina,  cu- 
rious to  learn  all  the  particulars  of  the  occur- 
rence, or  desirous,  perhaps,  to  congratulate 
Agrij)pina  on  her  escape.  When  these  peas- 
antry saw  the  armed  band  of  Anicetus  ap- 
proaching, they  know  not  what  it  meant, 
but  were  greatly  alarmed,  and  fled  in  all 
directions. 

The  guards   at  the  gates   of  Agrippina's 


A.D.  60.]     Fate  OF  Agrippina.  203 


Anicetus  goes  to  Agrippina's  villa. 


villa  made  some  resistance  to  the  entrance  of 
the  soldiers,  but  they  were  soon  knocked 
down  and  overj^owered ;  the  gates  were  burst 
open,  and  Anicetus  entered  at  the  head  of 
his  party  of  marines.  Agrippina,  who  was 
upon  her  bed  in  an  inner  chamber  at  the  time, 
heard  the  noise  and  tumult,  and  was  greatly 
alarmed.  A  number  of  friends  who  were 
with  her,  hearing  the  footsteps  of  the  armed 
men  on  the  stairs,  fled  from  the  chamber  in 
dismay,  by  a  private  door,  leaving  Agrippina 
alone  with  her  maid.  The  maid,  after  a  mo- 
ment's pause,  fled  too,  Agrippina  saying  to 
her  as  she  disappeared,  "  Are  you,  too,  going 
to  forsake  me  ?"  At  the  same  moment,  Ani- 
cetus forced  open  the  door  of  entrance,  and 
came  in  accompanied  by  two  of  his  oflicers. 
The  three  armed  men,  with  an  expression  of 
fierce  and  relentless  determination  upon  their 
countenances,  advanced  to  Agrippina's  bed- 
side. 

Agrippina  was  greatly  terrified,  but  she 
preserved  some  degree  of  outward  composure, 
and  raising  herself  in  her  bed,  she  looked 
steadily  upon  her  assassins. 

" Do  you  come  from  my  son?"  said  she. 

They  did  not  answer. 


204  Nero.  [A.D.  60. 

Conversation.  Agrippiiia  is  murdered. 

"  If  you  came  to  inquire  how  I  am,"  sakl 
slie,  "tell  him  that  I  am  better,  and  shall 
soon  be  entirely  well.  I  can  not  believe  that 
he  can  possibly  have  sent  you  to  do  me  any 
violence  or  harm." 

At  this  instant  one  of  the  assassins  struck 
at  the  wretched  mother  with  his  club.  The 
,  arm,  however,  of  the  most  hardened  and  un- 
relenting monster,  usually  falters  somewhat 
at  the  beginning,  in  doing  such  work  as  this, 
and  the  blow  gave  Agrippina  only  an  incon- 
siderable wound.  She  saw  at  once,  however, 
that  all  was  lost — that  the  bitter  moment  ot 
death  had  come, — but  instead  of  yielding  to 
the  emotions  of  terror  and  despair  which 
might  have  been  expected  to  overwhelm  the 
heart  of  a  woman  in  such  a  scene,  her  fierce- 
and  indomitable  spirit  aroused  itself  to  new 
life  and  vigor  in  the  terrible  emergency. 
As  the  assassins  approached  her  with  their 
swords  brandished  in  the  air,  preparing  to 
strike  her,  she  threw  the  bed-clothes  off,  so 
as  to  uncover  her  j)erson,  and  called  upon  her 
murderers  to  strike  her  in  the  wotabr  "  It  is 
there,"  said  she,  "that  the  stab  should  be 
given  when  a  mother  is  to  be  murdered  by 
her  son."     She  was  instantly  thrust  through 


A.D.  60.]     Fate  OF  Agrippina.  205 

Nero  is  overwhelmed  with  remorse  and  horror. 

M^th  a  multitude  of  wounds  in  every  part  of 
lier  body,  and  died  weltering  in  the  blood 
that  flowed  out  upon  the  couch  on  which  she 
lay. 

Anicetus  and  his  comrades,  when  the  deed 
was  done,  gazed  for  a  moment  on  the  lifeless' 
body,  and  then  gathering  together  again  the 
soldiers  that  they  had  left  at  the  gates,  they 
went  back  to  Baise  with  the  tidings.  The  first 
emotion  which  Nero  experienced,  on  hearing 
that  all  was  over,  was  that  of  relief.  lie  soon 
found,  however,  that  monster  as  he  was,  his 
conscience  was  not  yet  so  stupefied,  that  he 
could  perpetrate  such  a  deed  as  this  without 
bringing  out  her  scourge.  As  soon  as  he  be- 
gan to  reflect  upon  what  he  had  done,  his 
soul  was  overwhelmed  with  remorse  and 
horror.  He  passed  the  remainder  of  the  night 
in  dreadful  agony,  sometimes  sitting  silent 
and  motionless — gazing  into  vacancy,  as  if 
his  faculties  were  bewildered  and  lost,  and 
then  suddenly  starting  np,  amazed  and  trem- 
bling, and  staring  wildly  about,  as  if  seized 
with  a  sudden  frenzy.  His  wild  and  ghastly 
looks,  his  convulsive  gesticulations,  and  his 
incoherent  ravings  and  groans,  indicated  the 
horror  that  he  endured,  and  were  so  frightful 


206  Neeo.  [A.D.  60, 

He  becomes  more  calm.  The  dead  body. 

that  his  officers  and  attendants  shrunk  a\^y 
from  his  presence,  and  knew  not  what  to  do. 

At  length  they  sent  in  one  after  another  to 
attempt  to  calm  and  console  him.  Their  ef- 
forts, however,  were  attended  with  little  suc- 
cess. When  the  morning  came,  it  brought 
with  it  some  degree  of  composure ;  but  the 
dreadful  burden  of  guilt  which  pressed  upon 
Nero's  mind  made  him  still  unutterably 
wretched.  He  said  that  he  could  not  endure 
any  longer  to  remain  on  the  spot,  as  every 
thing  that  he  saw,  the  villas,  the  ships,  the 
sea,  the  shore,  and  all  tlie  other  objects  aroimd 
him,  were  so  associated  in  his  mind  with  the 
thought  of  his  mother,  and  with  the  remem- 
brance of  his  dreadful  crime,  that  he  could 
not  endure  them. 

In  the  mean  time,  as  soon  as  the  servants 
and  attendants  at  Agrippina's  villa  found 
that  Anicetus  and  his  troop  had  gone,  they 
returned  to  the  chamber  of  their  mistress  and 
gazed  upon  the  spectacle  which  awaited  them 
there,  with  inexpressible  horror.  Anicetus 
had  left  some  of  his  men  beliind  to  attend  to 
the  disposal  of  the  body,  as  it  was  important 
that  it  should  be  removed  from  sight  without 
delay,  since   it   might  be  expected   that  all 


A.D.  60.]     Fate  OF  Agrippina.  207 


Burning  of  the  body  of  Agrippina. 


who  should  look  upon  it  would  be  excited  to  a 
high  pitch  of  indignation  against  the  perpe- 
trators of  such  a  crime.  The  countenance,  in 
the  condition  of  repose  which  it  assumed 
after  death,  appeared  extremely  beautiful, 
and  seemed  to  address  a  mute  but  touching 
appeal  to  the  commiseration  of  every  be- 
holder. It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  hurry 
it  away.  Besides,  the  soldiers  themselves 
were  impatient.  They  wished  to  get  through 
with  their  horrid  work  and  be  gone. 

They  accordingly  built  a  funeral  pile  in  tlie 
garden  of  the  villa, — using  such  materials  for 
the  purpose  as  came  most  readily  to  hand — 
and  then  took  up  the  body  of  Agrippina  on 
the  bed  upon  which  it  lay,  and  placed  all  to- 
gether upon  the  pile.  The  fires  were  lighted. 
The  soldiers  watched  by  the  side  of  it  until 
the  pile  was  nearly  consumed,  and  then  went 
away,  leaving  the  heart-broken  domestics  of 
Agrippina  around  the  smoldering  embers. 


208  Neeo.  [A.D.  62. 

The  atrocity  of  Nero'3  crime  in  murdering  Agrippina. 


Chapter  IX. 

ExTKEME    Depravity. 

nnilERE  was  nothing  in  the  attendant  cir- 
-*-  cumstances  that  were  connected  with  the 
act  of  Nero  in  murdering  his  mother,  which 
could  palliate  or  extenuate  the  deed  in  the 
slightest  degree.  It  was  not  an  act  of  self- 
defense.  Agrippina  was  not  doing  him,  or 
intending  to  do  him  any  injury.  It  was  not 
an  act  of  hasty  violence,  prompted  by  sudden 
passion.  It  was  not  required  by  any  political 
necessity  as  a  means  for  accomplishing  some 
great  and  desirable  public  end.  It  was  a  cool, 
deliberate,  and  well-considered  crime,  per- 
formed solely  for  the  purpose  of  removing 
from  the  path  of  the  perpetrator  of  it  an  ob- 
stacle to  the  commission  of  another  crime. 
Nero  murdered  his  mother  in  cool  blood,  sim- 
ply because  she  was  in  the  way  of  liis  plans 
for  divorcing  his  innocent  wife,  and  marrying 
adulterously  another  woman. 

For  some  time  after  the  commission  of  this 


A.D.  fj2.]     Extreme  Depravity.         209 

Nero's  messages  to  the  senate.  Action  of  the  senate. 

great  crime,  the  mind  of  Nero  was  haunted 
by  dreadful  fears,  and  he  suffered  continually, 
by  day  and  by  night,  all  the  pangs  of  remorse 
and  horror.  He  did  not  dare  to  return  to 
Home,  not  knowing  to  what  height  the  popu- 
lar indignation,  that  would  be  naturally  ex- 
cited by  so  atrocious  a  deed,  might  rise ;  or 
what  might  be  the  consequences  to  him  if  he 
were  to  apjDcar  in  the  city.  He  accordingly 
remained  for  a  time  on  the  coast  at  Neapolis, 
the  town  to  which  he  had  retired  from  Baite. 
From  this  place  he  sent  various  communica- 
tions to  the  Roman  Senate,  explaining  and 
justifying  what  he  called  the  execution  of  his 
mother.  He  pretended  that  he  had  found  her 
guilty  of  treasonable  conspiracies  against  him 
and  against  the  state,  and  that  her  death  had 
bc^en  imperiously  demanded,  as  the  only 
means  of  securing  the  public  safety.  The 
senators  hated  Nero  and  abhorred  his  crimes ; 
but  they  were  overawed  by  the  terrible  power 
which  he  exercised  over  them  through  the 
army,  which  they  knew  was  entirely  subser- 
vient to  his  will,  and  by  their  dread  of  his 
ruthless  and  desperate  character.  They  pass- 
ed resolves  approving  of  what  he  had  done. 
His  officers  and  favorites  at  Rome  sent  him 
O 


210  l^ERO.  [A.D.  62. 

Nero  divorces  Octavia  and  marries  Poppaea. 

word  that  the  memory  of  Agrippina  was  ab- 
horred at  the  capital,  and  that  in  destroying 
her,  he  was  considered  as  having  rendered  a 
great  service  to  the  state.  These  represer  a,- 
tions  in  some  measure  reassm'ed  his  mind,  and 
at  length  he  returned  to  the  city. 

In  due  time  he  divorced  Octavia,  and  mar- 
ried Poppgga.  Octavia,  however,  still  remain- 
ed at  Rome,  residing  in  apartments  assigned 
her  in  one  of  the  imperial  jjalaces.  Her  high 
birth  and  distinguished  position,  and,  more 
than  all,  the  sympathy  that  was  felt  for  her 
in  her  misfortunes,  made  her  an  object  of 
great  attention.  The  people  put  garlands 
upon  her  statues  in  the  public  places  in  the 
city,  and  pulled  down  those  which  were  placed 
at  Nero's  command  upon  those  of  Poppaea. 
These  and  other  indications  of  the  popular 
feeling,  inflamed  Poppsea's  hatred  and  jeal- 
ousy to  such  a  degree,  that  she  suborned  one 
of  Octavia's  domestics  to  accuse  her  mistress 
of  an  ignominious  crime.  When  thus  accused, 
other  women  in  Octavia's  service  were  put  to 
the  rack  to  compel  them  to  testify  against  her. 
They,  however,  persevered,  in  the  midst  of 
their  tortures,  in  asserting  her  innocence. 
Poppaea,  nevertheless,  insisted  that  she  should 


A.D.  63.]     Extreme  DErEAviTT,         211 

Octavift  banished  from  Rome.  Anicetua. 

be  condemned,  and  at  last,  by  way  of  com- 
promising the  case,  ISTero  consented  to  banish 
her  from  the  city. 

She  was  sent  to  a  villa  on  the  sea-coast,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  place  where  Anicetus 
was  stationed  with  his  fleet.  But  Poppaea 
would  not  allow  her  to  live  in  peace  even  as 
an  exile.  She  soon  brought  a  charge  against 
her  of  having  formed  a  conspiracy  against  the 
government  of  Nero,  and  of  having  corrupted 
Anicetus,  with  a  view  of  obtaining  the  co- 
operation of  the  fleet  in  the  execution  of  trea- 
sonable designs.  Anicetus  himself  testified 
to  the  truth  of  this  charge.  He  said  that  Oc- 
tavia  had  formed  such  a  plan,  and  that  she 
had  given  herself  up,  in  person,  wholly  to 
him,  in  order  to  induce  him  to  join  in  it.  Oc- 
tavia  was  accordingly  condemned  to  die. 

Notwithstanding  the  testimony  of  Anicetus, 
Octavia  was  not  at  the  time  generally  believed 
to  be  guilty  of  the  charge  on  which  she  was 
condemned.  It  was  supposed  that  Anicetus 
was  induced,  by  promises  and  bribes  from 
Nero  and  Poppsea,  to  fabricate  the  story,  in 
order  that  they  might  have  a  pretext  for  put- 
ting Octavia  to  death.  However  this  may  be, 
the  unhappy  princess  was  condemned,  and  the 


212  Kero.  [A.D.  62. 

Octavia'3  unhappy  destiny.  Charges  against  her. 

sentence  pronounced  upon  lier  was,  that  she 
must  die. 

The  life  of  Octavia,  lofty  as  her  position  was 
in  respect  to  earthly  grandeur,  had  been  one 
of  uninterrupted  suffering  and  sorrow.  She 
had  been  married  to  Nero  when  a  mere  child, 
and  during  the  whole  period  of  her  connec- 
tion with  her  husband  he  had  treated  her  with 
continual  unkindness  and  neglect.  She  had 
at  length  been  cruelly  divorced  from  him,  and 
banished  from  her  native  city  on  charges  of 
the  most  ignominious  nature,  though  wholly 
false — and  before  this  last  accusation  was 
made  against  her  there  seemed  to  be  nothing 
before  her  but  the  prospect  of  spending  the 
remainder  of  her  days  in  a  miserable  and 
hopeless  exile.  Still  she  clung  to  life,  and 
when  the  messengers  of  ]^ero  came  to  tell  her 
that  she  must  die,  she  was  overwhelmed  with 
agitation  and  terror. 

She  begged  and  implored  them  with  tears 
and  agony,  to  spare  her  life.  She  would 
never,  she  said,  give  the  emperor  any  trouble, 
or  interfere  in  any  way  with  any  of  his  plans. 
She  gave  up  willingly  all  claims  to  being  his 
wife,  and  would  always  consider  herself  as 
only  his  sister.     She  would  live  in  retirement 


A.D.  62.]     Extreme  Depravity.  213 

She  is  put  to  death.  Extreme  depravity. 

and  seclusion  in  any  place  where  Nero  might 
appoint  her  abode,  and  would  never  occasion 
him  the  slightest  uneasiness  whatever.  The 
executioners  cut  short  these  entreaties  by 
seizing  the  unhappy  princess  in  the  midst  of 
them,  binding  her  limbs  with  thongs,  and 
opening  her  veins.  She  fainted,  however, 
under  this  treatment,  and  when  the  veins  were 
opened  the  wretched  victim  lay  passive  and 
insensible  in  the  hands  of  her  executioners, 
and  the  blood  would  not  flow.  So  they  car- 
ried her  to  a  steam-bath  which  happened  to 
be  in  readiness  near  at  hand,  and  shutting 
her  up  in  it,  left  her  to  be  suflbcated  by  the 
vapoi . 

Thus  the  great  crowning  crime  of  o^ero's 
life, — for  the  murder  of  Agrippina,  the  adul- 
terous marriage  with  Poppaja,  and  the  subse- 
quent murder  of  Octavia,  are  to  be  regarded 
as  constituting  one  single  though  complicated 
crime, — ^was  consummate  and  complete.  It 
was  a  crime  of  the  highest  possible  atrocity. 
To  open  the  way  to  an  adulterous  marriage 
by  the  deliberate  and  cruel  murder  of  a  mo- 
ther, and  then  to  seal  and  secure  it  by  mur- 
dering an  innocent  w^ife, — blackening  her 
memory  at  the  same  time  with  an  ignominy 


214  JSTeko.  [A.D.  63. 

Nero  recovers  from  his  remorse.  His  various  crimes. 

wholly  undeserved,  constitute  a  crime  which 
for  unnatural  and  monstrous  enormity  must 
be  considered  as  standing  at  the  head  of  all 
that  human  depravity  has  ever  achicA^ed. 

Nero  gradually  recovered  from  the  remorse 
and  horror  with  which  the  commission  of 
these  atrocities  at  first  overwhelmed  him ; 
and  in  order  to  hasten  liis  relief  he  plunged 
recklessly  into  every  species  of  riot  and  ex- 
cess, and  in  the  end  hardened  himself  so 
comj)letely  in  crime,  that  during  the  remain- 
der of  his  life  he  peqjetrated  the  most  abomi- 
nable deeds  without  any  apparent  compunc- 
tion whatever.  He  killed  Poppsea  herself  at 
last  with  a  kick,  which  he  gave  her  in  a  fit  of 
passion  at  a  time  when  circumstances  were 
such  with  her  that  the  violence  brought  on  a 
premature  and  unnatural  sickness.  He  after- 
ward ordered  her  son  to  be  drowned  in  the 
sea,  by  his  slaves,  when  he  was  a  fishing,  be- 
cause he  understood  that  the  boy,  in  playing 
with  the  other  children,  often  acted  tiie  part 
of  an  emperor.  His  general  Burrus  he  poi- 
soned. He  sent  him  the  poison  under  pre- 
tense that  it  was  a  medical  remedy  for  a 
swelling  of  the  throat  under  which  Burrus 
was   sutfering.      Buitus   drank   the  draught 


A.D.  62.]     Extreme  Depkavity.         215 

Public  affairs  neglected.  His  performances  on  the  etago. 

under  that  impression  and  died.  He  de- 
stro3''ed  hy  similar  means  in  the  com'se  of  his 
life  great  numbers  of  his  relatives  and  officers 
of  state,  so  that  there  was  scarcely  a  person 
who  was  brought  into  any  degree  of  intimate 
connection  with  him  that  did  not  sooner  or 
later  come  to  a  violent  end. 

During  his  whole  reign  Nero  neglected  the 
public  aftairs  of  the  empire  almost  altogether, 
— apparently  regarding  the  vast  power,  and 
the  immense  resources  that  were  at  his  com- 
mand, as  only  means  for  the  more  complete 
gratification  of  his  own  personal  propensities 
and  passions.  The  only  ambition  whicli  ever 
appeared  to  animate  him  was  a  desire  for 
fame  as  a  singer  and  actor  on  the  stage. 

At  the  time  when  he  commenced  his  career 
it  was  considered  wholly  beneath  the  dignity 
of  any  Roman  of  rank  to  appear  in  any  pub- 
lic performance  of  that  nature ;  but  Nero, 
having  conceived  in  his  youth  a  high  idea  of 
his  merit  as  a  singer,  devoted  himself  with 
gi'eat  assiduity  to  the  cultivation  of  his  voice, 
and,  as  he  was  encouraged  in  what  he  did  1^ 
the  flatterers  that  of  course  were  always 
around  him,  his  interest  in  the  musical  art 
became  at  length  an  extravagant  passion.    He 


216  Neko.  [A.D.  63. 

Musical  training.  Nero's  success. 

submitted  with  the  greatest  patience  to  the 
rigorous  training  customary  in  those  times 
for  the  development  and  improvement  of  the 
voice  ;  such  as  lying  for  long  periods  upon 
his  back,  with  a  weiglit  of  lead  upon  his 
breast,  in  order  to  force  the  muscles  of  the 
chest  to  extraordinary  exertion,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  strengthening  them — and  taking  medi- 
cines of  various  kinds  to  clear  the  Aoice  and 
reduce  the  system.  He  was  so  much  pleased 
with  the  success  of  these  efforts,  that  he  be- 
gan to  feel  a  great  desire  to  perform  in  public 
upon  the  stage.  lie  accordingly  began  to 
make  arrangements  for  doing  this.  He  first 
appeared  in  private  exhibitions,  in  the  impe- 
rial palaces  and  gardens,  where  only  the 
nobility  of  Rome  and  invited  guests  were 
present.  He,  however,  gradually  extended 
liis  audiences,  and  at  length  came  out  upon 
tlie  public  stage, — first,  however,  in  order  to 
prepare  the  public  mind  for  what  they  would 
have  otherwise  considered  a  great  degradation, 
inducing  the  sons  of  some  of  the  principal 
nobility  to  come  forward  in  similar  entertain- 
ments. He  was  so  pleased  with  the  success 
which  he  imagined  that  he  met  with  in  this 
career,  that  he  devoted  a  large  part  of  his 


A.D.  62.]     Extreme  Depravity,         217 

His  trained  applauders.  Rules  and  regulations  at  the  theater. 

time  during  his  whole  life  to  such  perform- 
ances. Of  course,  his  love  of  applause  in  his 
theatrical  career,  increased  much  too  fast  to 
be  satisfied  with  the  natural  and  ordinary- 
means  of  gratifying  it,  and  he  accordingly 
made  arrangements,  most  absurdly,  to  create 
for  his  performances  a  fictitious  and  counter- 
feit celebrity.  At  one  time  he  had  a  corps 
of  five  thousand  men  under  pay  to  applaud 
him,  in  the  immense  circuses  and  amphithea- 
ters where  he  performed.  These  men  were 
regularly  trained  to  the  work  of  applauding, 
as  if  it  were  an  art  to  be  acquired  by  study 
and  instruction.  It  was  an  art,  in  fact,  as 
they  practiced  it, — different  modes  of  ap- 
plause being  designated  for  different  species 
of  merit,  and  the  utmost  precision  being  re- 
quired on  the  part  of  the  performers,  in  the 
concert  of  their  action,  and  in  their  obedience 
to  the  signals.  He  used  also  to  require  on 
the  days  when  he  was  to  perform,  that  the 
doors  of  the  theater  should  be  closed  when 
the  audience  had  assembled,  and  no  egress 
allowed  on  any  pretext  whatever.  Such  reg- 
ulations of  course  excited  great  complaint, 
and  much  ridicule ;  especially  as  the  sessions 
at  these  spectacles  were  sometimes  protracted 


218  Neko-  [A.D.  G3. 

Races  and  games.  Nero  generally  the  victor. 

and  tiresome  to  the  last  degree.  Even  sud- 
den sickness  was  not  a  sufficient  reason  for 
allowing  a  spectator  to  depart,  and  so  it  was 
said  that  the  people  used  sometimes  to  feign 
death,  in  order  to  be  carried  out  to  their 
burial.  In  some  cases,  it  was  said,  births 
took  j)b^ce  in  the  theaters,  the  mothers  hav- 
ing come  incautiously  with  the  crowd  to 
witness  the  spectacles,  without  properly  con- 
sidering what  might  be  the  effect  of  the 
excitement,  and  then  afterward  not  being  per- 
mitted to  retire. 

Besides  singing  and  acting  on  the  stage, 
Nero  took  part  in  every  other  species  of  pub- 
lic amusement.  He  entered  as  a  competitor 
for  the  prize  in  races  and  games  of  every  kind. 
Of  course  he  always  came  off  victor.  This 
end  was  accomplished  sometimes  by  the  secret 
connivance  of  the  other  competitors,  and  some- 
times by  open  bribery  of  the  judges.  Nero's 
ridiculous  vanity  and  self-conceit  seemed  to 
be  fully  gratified  by  receiving  the  prize, 
without  any  regard  whatever  to  the  question 
of  deserving  it.  He  used  to  come  back  some- 
times from  journeys  to  foreign  cities,  where 
he  had  been  performing  on  the  stage  at  great 
public  festivals,  and  enter  Rome  in  triumph, 


A.D.  C3.]     Extreme  Detravity.         219 

His  private  conduct  and  character.  His  midnight  brawls. 

with  the  garlands,  and  crowns,  and  other 
decorations  which  he  had  won,  paraded  be- 
fore him  in  the  procession,  in  the  manner  in 
which  distinguished  commanders  had  been 
accustomed  to  display  the  trophies  of  their 
military  victories,  when  returning  from  for- 
eign campaigns. 

In  fact  it  was  only  in  the  perpetration  of 
such  miserable  follies  as  these  that  Nero  ap- 
peared before  the  public  at  all,  and  in  his  pri- 
vate conduct  and  character  he  sank  very  rap- 
idly, after  he  came  into  power,  to  the  very 
lowest  degree  of  profligacy  and  vice.  After 
having  spent  the  evening  in  drinking  and  de- 
bauchery, he  would  sally  forth  into  the  streets 
at  midnight,  as  has  already  been  stated,  to 
mingle  there  with  the  vilest  men  and  women 
of  the  town  in  brawls  and  riots.  On  these 
excursions  he  would  attack  such  peaceable 
parties  as  he  chanced  to  meet  in  the  streets, 
and  if  they  made  resistance,  he  and  his  com- 
panions would  beat  them  down  and  throw 
them  into  canals  or  open  sewers.  Sometimes 
in  these  combats  he  was  beaten  himself,  and 
on  one  occasion  he  came  very  near  losing  his 
life,  having  been  almost  killed  by  the  blows 
dealt  upon  him  by  a  certain  Roman  senator, 


220  Nero.  [A.D.  63. 

Rioting  and  excess.  His  great  feasts.  The  artificial  lake. 

whose  wife  he  insulted  as  slie  was  walking 
with  her  husband  in  the  street.  The  senator, 
of  course,  did  not  know  him.  He  used  to  go 
to  the  theater  in  disguise,  in  company  with  a 
gang  of  companions  of  similar  character  to 
himself,  and  watch  for  opportunities  to  excite 
or  encourage  riots  or  tumults  there.  When- 
ever he  could  succeed  in  urging  these  tumults 
on  to  actual  violence  he  would  mingle  in  the 
fray,  and  throw  stones  and  fragments  of 
broken  benches  and  furniture  among  the 
people. 

After  a  while,  when  he  had  grown  more 
bold  and  desperate  in  his  wickedness,  he  be- 
gan to  lay  aside  all  disguise,  and  at  last  he 
actually  seemed  to  take  a  pride  and  pleasure 
in  exhibiting  the  scenes  of  riot  and  excess  in 
which  he  engaged,  in  the  most  impudent 
manner  before  the  public  gaze.  He  used  to 
celebrate  great  feasts  in  the  public  amphithe- 
aters, and  on  the  arena  of  the  circus,  and  ca- 
rouse there  in  company  with  the  most  disso- 
lute men  and  women  of  the  city — a  spectacle 
to  the  whole  population.  There  was  a  large 
artificial  lake  or  reservoir  in  one  part  of  the 
city,  built  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting 
mimic   representations  of  the  manoeuvers  of 


A.D.  63.]     Extreme  Depravity.         221 

Immenee  sums  of  money  expended  by  Nero. 

fleets,  and  naval  battles,  for  the  amusement 
of  the  people  at  great  public  celebrations. 
There  were,  of  course,  numerous  ranges  of 
seats  around  the  margin  of  this  lake  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  spectators.  Nero  took 
possession  of  this  structure  for  some  of  his 
carousals,  in  order  to  obtain  greater  scope  for 
ostentation  and  display.  The  water  was 
drawn  off  on  such  occasions  and  the  gates 
shut,  and  then  the  bottom  of  the  reservoir 
was  floored  over  to  make  space  for  the  tables. 
The  sums  of  money  which  Nero  spent  in 
the  pursuit  of  sensual  pleasures  were  incalcu- 
lable. In  fact  there  were  no  bounds  to  his 
extravagance  and  profusion.  He  had  com- 
mand, of  course,  of  all  the  treasure  of  the  em- 
pire, and  he  procured  immense  sums  besides, 
by  fines,  confiscations,  and  despotic  exactions 
of  various  kinds  ;  and  as  he  undertook  no 
public  enterprises — being  seldom  engaged  in 
foreign  wars,  and  seldom  attempting  any  use- 
ful constructions  in  the  city — the  vast  re- 
sources at  his  command  were  wholly  devoted 
to  the  purposes  of  ostentatious  personal  dis- 
play, and  sensual  gratifications.  The  pomp 
and  splendor  of  his  feasts,  his  processions,  his 
journeys  of  pleasure,  and  the  sums  that  he  is 


222  Neko.  [A.D.  63. 

His  favorites.  His  excursions  to  Ostia. 

said  to  have  lavished  sometimes  in  money 
and  jewels,  and  sometimes  in  villas,  gardens, 
and  equipages,  upon  his  favorites,  both  male 
and  female,  are  almost  incredible.  On  some 
of  the  pleasure  excursions  which  he  took  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Tiber,  he  would  have  the 
banks  of  the  river  lined  with  booths  and  costly 
tents  all  the  way  from  the  river  to  the  sea. 
These  tents  were  provided  with  sumptuous 
entertainments,  and  with  beds  and  couches 
for  repose  ;  and  they  were  all  attended  by 
beautiful  girls  who  stood  at  the  doors  of  them 
inviting  Nero  and  his  party  to  land,  as  they 
passed  along  the  river  in  their  barges.  He 
used  to  fish  with  a  golden  net,  which  was  drawn 
by  silken  cords  of  a  rich  scarlet  color.  Oc- 
casionally he  made  grand  excursions  of  pleas- 
ure through  Italy  or  into  Greece,  in  the  style 
of  royal  progresses.  In  these  expeditions  he 
sometimes  had  no  less  than  a  thousand  carts 
to  convey  his  baggage — the  mules  that  drew 
them  being  all  shod  with  silver,  and  their 
drivers  dressed  in  scarlet  clothes  of  the  most 
costly  character.  He  was  attended,  also,  on 
these  excursions,  by  a  numerous  train  of  foot- 
men, and  of  African  servants,  who  wore  rich 


A.D.  64.]     Extreme  Depravity.  223 

The  burning  of  Rome.  Nero  accused  of  being  the  iiicemliary. 

bracelets  upon  their  arms,  and  were  mounted 
on  horses  splendidly  caparisoned. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  events 
which  occurred  during  Nero's  reign  was  what 
was  called  the  burning  of  Rome, — a  great 
conflagration,  by  which  a  large  part  of  the 
city  was  destroyed.  It  was  very  generally 
believed  at  the  time  that  this  destruction  was 
the  work  of  Nero  himself, — ^the  fruit  of  his 
reckless  and  willful  depravity.  There  is,  it  is 
true,  no  very  positive  proof  that  the  fire  was 
set  by  Nero's  orders,  though  one  of  the,  histo- 
rians of  the  time  states  that  confidential  ser- 
vants belonging  to  Nero's  household  were 
seen,  when  the  fire  commenced,  going  from 
house  to  house  with  combustibles  and  torches, 
spreading  the  flames.  He  was  himself  at 
Antium  at  the  time,  and  did  not  come  to 
Koine  until  the  fire  had  been  raging  for  many 
days.  If  it  is  true  that  the  fire  was  Nero's 
work,  it  is  not  supposed  that  he  designed  to 
cause  so  extensive  a  conflagration.  He  in- 
tended, perhaps,  only  to  destroy  a  few  build- 
ings that  covered  ground  which  he  wished  to 
occupy  for  the  enlargement  of  his  palaces ; 
though  it  was  said  by  some  writers  that  he 
really  designed  to  destroy  a  great  part  of  the 


224  Neeo.  [A.D.  64. 

His  probable  motives.  He  comes  to  see  the  lira. 

cit}^,  with  a  view  to  immortalize  his  name  bj 
rebuilding  it  in  a  new  and  more  splendid 
form.  With  these  motives,  if  these  indeed 
were  his  motives,  there  was  doubtless  mingled 
a  feeling  of  malicious  gratification  at  any 
tiling  that  would  terrify  and  torment  the  mis- 
erable subjects  of  his  power.  When  he  came 
to  Kome  from  Antium  at  the  time  that  the 
conflagration  was  at  its  height,  he  found  the 
whole  city  a  scene  of  indescribable  terror 
and  distress.  Thousands  of  the  people  had 
been  burned  to  death  or  crushed  beneath  the 
ruins  of  the  fallen  houses.  The  streets  were 
filled  with  piles  of  goods  and  furniture  burnt 
and  broken.  Multitudes  of  men,  though  near- 
ly exhausted  with  fatigue,  were  desperately 
toiling  on,  in  hopeless  endeavors  to  extinguish 
the  flames,  or  to  save  some  small  remnant  of 
their  property, — and  distracted  mothers,  wild 
and  haggard  from  terror  and  despair,  were 
roaming  to  and  fro,  seeking  their  children, — 
Bome  moaning  in  anguish,  and  some  piercing 
the  air  with  loud  and  frantic  outcries.  Nero 
was  entertained  by  the  scene  as  if  it  had  been 
a  great  dramatic  spectacle.  He  went  to  one 
of  the  theaters,  and  taking  his  place  upon  the 
stage  he  amused  himself  there  with  singing 


A.U.  64.]     Extreme  Depravity.         227. 

He  celebrates  the  occasion  by  a  song. 

and  playing  a  celebrated  composition  on  the 
subject  of  the  burning  of  Troy.  At  least  it 
was  said  and  generally  believed  in  the  city 
that  he  did  so,  and  the  minds  of  the  people 
were  excited  against  the  inhuman  monster 
to  the  highest  pitch  of  indignation.  In  fact, 
ISTero  seems  to  have  thought  at  last  that  he 
had  gone  too  far,  and  he  began  to  make  efforts 
in  earnest  to  relieve  the  j^eople  from  some 
portion  of  their  distress.  He  caused  great 
numbers  of  tents  to  be  erected  in  the  parade- 
ground  for  temporary  shelter,  and  brought 
fresh  supplies  of  corn  into  the  city  to  save  the 
people  from  famine.  These  measures  of 
mercy,  however,  came  too  late  to  retrieve  his 
character.  The  people  attributed  the  miseries 
of  this  dreadful  calamity  to  his  desperate  ma- 
liciousness, and  he  became  the  object  of  uni- 
versal execration. 


228  Neeo.  [A.D.  65. 

Origin  and  nature  of  Piso's  conspiracy. 


Chaptek   X. 
Piso's    Conspieact. 

A  LTHOUGH  the  people  of  Eome  were 
■^-^  generally  so  overawed  by  the  terror  of 
Nero's  power,  that  for  a  long  period  no  one 
dared  to  make  any  open  resistance  to  his  will, 
still  his  excesses  and  cruelties  excited  in  the 
minds  of  men  a  great  many  secret  feelings  of 
resentment  and  detestation.  At  one  period 
in  the  course  of  his  reign  a  very  desperate 
conspiracy  was  formed  by  some  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  state,  to  dethrone  and  destroy  the 
tyrant.  This  plot  was  a  very  extensive  and 
a  very  formidable  one.  It  was,  however,  ac- 
cidentally discovered  before  it  was  fully  ma- 
ture, and  thus  was  unsuccessful.  It  is  known 
in  history  as  Piso's  Conspiracy — deriving  its 
name  from  that  of  the  principal  leader  of  it, 
Caius  Calpurnius  Piso. 

It  is  not  supposed,  however,  that  Piso  was 
absolutely  the  originator  of  the  conspiracy, 
nor  is  it  known,  in  fact,  who  the  originator 
of  it  was.     A  great  number  of  prominent  men 


A.D.  65.]     Piso's  CoNSPiKACT.  229 

Lucan,  the  Latin  poet.  His  quarrel  with  Nero. 

were  involved  in  the  plot — men  who,  possess- 
ing very  different  characters,  and  occupying 
very  different  stations  in  life,  were  probably 
induced  by  various  motives  to  take  part  in  the 
conspiracy.  A  conspiracy,  however,  of  this 
kind,  against  so  merciless  a  tyrant  as  Nero,  is 
an  enterprise  of  such  frightful  danger,  and  is 
attended,  if  unsuccessful,  with  such  awful 
consequences  to  all  concerned  in  it,  that  men 
will  seldom  engage  in  such  a  scheme  until 
goaded  to  desperation,  and  almost  maddened, 
by  the  wrongs  which  they  have  endured. 

And  yet  the  exasperation  which  these  con- 
spirators felt  against  Nero,  seems  to  have  been 
produced,  in  some  instances  at  least,  by  what 
we  should  now  consider  rather  inadequate 
causes.  For  example,  one  of  the  men  most 
active  in  this  secret  league,  was  the  celebrated 
Latin  poet  Lucan.  In  the  early  part  of  his 
life,  Lucan  had  been  one  of  Nero's  principal 
flatterers,  having  written  hymns  and  sonnets 
in  his  praise.  At  length,  as  it  was  said,  some 
public  occasion  occurred  in  which  verses  were 
to  be  recited  in  public,  for  a  prize.  Nero, 
Avho  imagined  himself  to  excel  in  every  hu- 
man art  or  attainment,  offered  some  of  his  own 
verses  in  the  competition.     The  prize,  how- 


230  JSTeeo.  [A.D.  65. 

Lateraiuis.  Celebrity  ofliis  name. 

ever,  was  adjudged  to  Liican.  Nero's  mind 
was  accordingly  tilled  with  envy  and  hate  to- 
ward his  rival,  and  he  soon  found  some  pre- 
text for  forbidding  Lucan  ever  to  i-ecite  any 
verses  in  public  again.  This  of  coui'se  exas- 
perated Lucan  in  his  turn,  and  was  the  cause 
of  his  joining  in  the  conspiracy. 

Another  of  the  conspirators  was  a  certain 
Konian  nobleman,  whose  famdy  name  has 
since  become  very  widely  known  in  all  parts 
of  the  civilized  world,  through  an  estate  in  the 
city  with  Avhich  it  w^as  associated, — which  es- 
tate, and  certain  buildings  erected  upon  it,  be- 
came subsequently  greatly  celebrated  in  the 
ecclesiastical  history  of  Rome.  The  name  of 
this  nobleman  was  Plautius  Lateranus.  When 
Lateranus  was  put  to  death  at  the  detection  of 
the  conspiracy,  in  the  manner  to  be  presently 
described,  his  estate  was  confiscated.  The 
palace  and  grounds  thus  became  the  property 
of  the  Roman  emperors.  In  process  of  time, 
the  emjjeror  Constantine  gave  the  place  to 
the  pope,  and  from  that  period  it  continued  to 
be  the  residence  of  the  successive  pontiffs  for 
a  thousand  years.  A  church  was  built  ujjon 
the  ground,  called  the  Basilica  of  St,  John  of 
Lateran,  where  many  ancient  councils  Avere 


A.D.  65.]     Piso's  CoNSPiKACT.  231 


The  church  of  St.  John  Lateran. 


held,  known  in  ecclesiastical  history  as  the 
councils  of  the  Lateran.  This  church  is  still 
used  for  some  of  the  ceremonies  connected 
with  the  inauguration  of  the  pope,  but  the 
palace  is  now  uninhabited.  It  presents,  how- 
ever, in  its  ruins,  a  vast  and  imposing,  though 
desolate  aspect. 

Lateranus  was  an  unprincipled  and  disso- 
lute man,  and  in  consequence  of  certain 
crimes  which  he  committed  in  connection 
with  Messalina,  during  the  reign  of  Claudius, 
he  had  been  condemned  to  death.  The  sen- 
tence of  death  was  not  executed,  though  Lat- 
eranus was  deprived  of  his  rank,  and  doomed 
to  live  in  retirement  and  disgrace.  At  the 
death  of  Claudius,  and  the  accession  of  ITero, 
Lateranus  was  fully  pardoned  and  restored  to 
his  former  rank  and  position,  through  ISTero's 
instrumentality.  It  might  have  been  sup- 
posed that  gratitude  for  these  favors  would 
have  prevented  Lateranus  from  joining  such 
a  consj)iracy  as  this  against  his  benefactor, 
but  gratitude  has  very  little  place  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  dwell  in  the  courts  and 
palaces  of  such  tyrants  as  Nero. 

The  man  on  whom  the  conspirators  relied 
most  for  efficient  military  aid,  so  far  as  such 


232         -  Neeo.  [A.D.  65. 

Fenius  Rufus.  A  woman  iu  the  secret. 

aid  should  be  needed  in  their  enterprise,  was 
a  certain  Fenius  Kufus,  a  captain  of  the  im- 
perial guards.  He  was  a  man  of  very  resolute 
and  decided  character,  and  was  very  highly 
esteemed  by  the  people  of  Rome.  He  was 
not  one  of  the  originators  of  the  plot,  but 
joined  it  at  a  later  period  ;  and  when  the 
news  of  his  accession  to  it  was  communicated 
to  the  rest,  it  gave  them  great  encouragement, 
as  they  attached  great  importance  to  the  ad- 
hesion of  such  a  man  to  their  cause.  They 
now  immediately  began  to  take  measures  for 
executing  their  plans. 

There  was  a  woman  in  the  secret  of  this 
conspiracy,  though  how  she  obtained  a  knowl- 
edge of  it  no  one  seemed  to  know.  Her  name 
was  Epicharis.  While  the  execution  of  the 
plans  of  the  confederates  was  delayed,  Epi- 
charis came  to  the  principal  conspirators 
privately,  first  to  one  and  then  to  another,  and 
urged  them  to  action.  None  of  the  members 
of  the  plot  would  admit  that  they  had  given 
her  any  information  on  the  subject,  and  how 
she  obtained  her  information  no  one  could 
tell.  She  was  a  woman  of  bad  character,  and 
as  such  women  often  are,  she  was  violent  and 
implacable  in  her  hatred.     She  hated  Nero, 


A.D.  65.J    Piso's  Conspiracy.  233 

Plans  and  arrnugernents  ol'  the  conspirators. 

and  was  so  impatient  at  the  delay  of  the  con- 
spirators that  she  made  rej)eated  and  earnest 
efforts  to  urge  them  on. 

The  conspirators  in  the  mean  time  held 
various  secret  meetings  to  mature  their  plans, 
and  to  complete  the  preparation  for  the  exe- 
cution of  them.  They  designed  to  destroy 
Nero  by  some  violent  means,  and  then  to 
cause  Piso  to  be  jDroclaimed  emperor  in  his 
place.  Piso  was  a  man  well  suited  for  their 
purpose  in  this  respect.  He  was  tall  aifd 
graceful  in  form,  and  his  j)ersonal  appearance 
was  in  every  respect  prepossessing.  His  rank 
was  very  high,  and  he  was  held  in  great  esti- 
mation by  all  the  peojjle  of  the  city  for  the 
many  generous  and  noble  qualities  that  he 
possessed.  He  was  allied,  too,  to  the  most 
illustrious  families  of  Eome,  and  he  occupied 
in  all  respects  so  conspicuous  a  position,  and 
was  so  much  an  object  of  popular  favor,  that 
the  conspirators  believed  that  his  elevation  to 
the  empire  could  easily  be  effected,  if  Nero 
himself  could  once  be  put  out  of  the  way.  To 
effect  the  assassination  of  Nero,  therefore,  was 
the  first  step. 

After  much  debate,  and  many  consultations 
in  respect  to  the  best  course  to  be  pursued,  it 


234  Neeo.  [A.D.  65. 

Bold  proposals  of  Flavins.  The  palace  to  be  set  on  fire. 

was  decided  to  accept  the  offer  of  a  certain 
Subrius  riavius,  who  undertook  to  kill  the 
emperor  in  the  streets,  at  night,  at  some  time 
when  he  was  roaming  abont  in  his  carousals. 
Flavins,  in  fact,  was  very  daring  and  resolute 
in  his  proposals,  though  wanting,  as  it  proved 
in  the  end,  in  the  fulfillment  of  them.  He 
offered  to  stab  Kero  in  the  theater,  when  he 
was  singing  on  the  stage,  in  the  midst  of  all 
the  thousands  of  spectators  convened  there. 
This  the  conspirators  thought,  it  seems,  an  un- 
necessarily bold  and  desperate  mode  of  ac- 
complishing the  end  in  view,  and  the  plan 
was  accordingly  overruled.  Flavius  then 
proposed  to  set  the  palace  on  fire  some  night 
when  Nero  was  out  in  the  city,  and  then,  in 
the  confusion  that  would  ensue,  and  while  the 
attention  of  the  guards  who  had  accompanied 
Kero  should  be  drawn  toward  the  fire,  to 
assassinate  the  emperor  in  the  streets.  This 
plan  was  acceded  to  by  the  conspirators,  and 
it  was  left  to  Flavius  to  select  a  favorable 
time  for  the  execution  of  it. 

Time  passed  on,  however,  and  nothing  was 
done.  The  favorable  time  which  Flavius 
looked  for  did  not  appear.  In  the  mean- 
while Epicharis  became  more  and  more  im- 


A.D.  65,]     Piso's  Conspiracy.  235 

Epichuris  impatient.  She  goes  to  the  fleet. 

patient  of  the  delay.  She  urged  the  conspir- 
ators to  do  their  work,  and  chided  in  the 
strongest  terms  their  irresolution  and  pusil 
lanimity.  At  length  finding  that  her  invec- 
tives and  reproaches  were  of  no  avail,  she  de- 
termined to  leave  them,  and  to  see  what  she 
could  do  herself  toward  the  attainment  of  the 
end. 

She  accordingly  left  Eome  and  proceeded 
southwardly  along  the  coast  till  she  came  to 
Misenum,  which,  as  has  already  been  said, 
was  the  great  naval  station  of  the  empire  at 
this  time.  Epicharis  went  to  some  of  the  offi- 
cers of  the  fieet,  many  of  whom  she  knew, — 
and  in  a  very  secret  and  cautious  manner 
made  known  to  them  the  nature  of  the  plot 
which  had  been  formed  at  Rome  for  the  de- 
struction of  Nero  and  the  elevation  ofPiso  to 
the  empire  in  his  stead.  Before,  however, 
communicating  intelligence  of  the  conspii*acy 
to  any  f>ersons  whatever,  Epicharis  would  con- 
verse with  them  secretly  and  confidentially 
to  learn  how  they  were  affected  toward  Nero 
and  his  government.  If  she  found  them  well 
disposed  she  said  nothing.  If  on  the  other 
hand  any  one  appeared  discontented  with  the 
government,  or  hostile  to  it  in  any  way,  she 


236  l^EKo.  [A.D.  65. 

She  communicates  with  Proculus  at  Miseuum. 

would  cautiously  make  known  to  Lini  the 
plans  which  were  concocting  at  Rome  for  the 
overthrow  of  it.  She  took  care,  however,  in 
these  conversations  to  have  never  more  than 
one  person  present  with  her  at  a  time,  and 
she  revealed  none  of  the  names  of  the  con- 
sjDirators. 

Among  the  other  officers  of  the  fleet  was  a 
certain  Proculus,  who  was  one  of  the  first  with 
whom  E2)icharis  communicated.  Proculus 
was  one  of  the  men  who  had  been  employed 
by  Nero  in  his  attempts  to  assassinate  Agrip- 
pina  his  mother,  and  for  his  services  on  that 
occasion  had  been  promoted  to  the  command 
of  a  certain  number  of  ships,  a  number  con- 
taining in  all  one  thousand  men.  This  pro- 
motion, however,  as  Epicharis  found  when  she 
came  to  converse  with  him,  Proculus  did  not 
consider  as  great  a  reward  as  his  services  had 
deserved.  The  perpetration  of  so  horrible  a 
crime  as  the  murder  of  the  emperor's  mother, 
merited,  in  his  opinion,  as  he  said  to  Epicha- 
ris, a  much  higher  recompense  than  the  com- 
mand of  a  thousand  men.  Epicharis  thought 
so  too.  She  talked  with  Proculus  about  his 
wrongs,  and  the  injuries  which  he  suffered 
from  Nero's  ingratitude  and  neglect,  until  she 


A.D.  65.J     Piso's    CoNSPiEACY.  237 


Proculus  reveals  the  plot  to  Nero. 


fancied  that  he  was  in  a  state  of  mind  which 
would  prepare  him  to  join  in  the  plans  of  the 
conspirators,  and  then  she  cautiously  unfolded 
them  to  him. 

Proculus  listened  with  great  apparent  inter- 
est to  Epicharis's  communication,  and  pre- 
tended to  enter  very  cordially  into  the  plan 
of  the  conspiracy;  but  as  soon  as  the  inter- 
view was  ended  he  immediately  left  Mise- 
num,  and  proceeded  immediately  to  Rome, 
where  he  divulged  the  whole  design  to  Nero. 

JSTero  was  exceedingly  alarmed,  and  sent 
officers  off  at  once  to  seize  Ej)icharis  and  bring 
her  before  him.  Epicharis,  when  questioned 
and  confronted  with  Proculus,  resolutely  de- 
nied that  she  had  ever  held  any  such  con- 
versation with  Proculus  as  he  alledged,  and 
feigned  the  utmost  astonishment  at  what  she 
termed  the  impudence  of  his  accusation.  She 
called  for  witnesses  and  proofs.  Proculus  of 
course  could  pi'oduce  none,  for  Epicharis  had 
taken  care  that  there  should  be  no  third  per- 
son present  at  their  interviews.  Proculus 
could  not  even  give  the  names  of  any  of  the 
conspirators  at  Rome.  He  could  only  persist 
in  his  declaration  that  Epicharis  had  really 
disclosed  to  him  the  existence  of  the  conspir- 


238  Keeo.  [A.D.  65. 

Noro  perplexed.  Epicharis  imprisoned. 

acy,  and  had  proposed  to  him  to  join  in  it; 
while  she  on  the  contrary  as  strenuously  and 
positively  denied  it.  Nero  was  perplexed. 
He  found  it  impossible  to  determine  what  to 
believe.  He  finally  dismissed  Proculus,  and 
sent  Epicharis  to  prison,  intending  that  she 
should  remain  there  until  he  could  make  a 
more  full  examination  into  the  case,  and  de- 
termine what  to  do. 

In  the  mean  time  the  conspirators  became 
considerably  alarmed  when  they  heard  of  the 
arrest  of  Epicharis,  and  though  they  knew 
that  thus  far  she  had  revealed  nothing,  they 
could  not  tell  how  soon  her  fidelity  and  firm- 
ness might  yield  under  the  tortures  to  which 
she  was  every  day  liable  to  be  subjected  ;  and 
as  there  appeared  to  be  now  no  prospect  that 
Flavins  would  ever  undertake  to  execute  his 
plan,  they  began  to  devise  some  other  means 
of  attaining  the  end. 

It  seems  that  Piso  possessed  at  this  time  a 
villa  and  country-seat  at  Baiae,  on  the  coast 
south  of  Rome,  and  near  to  Misenum,  and 
that  Nero  was  accustomed  sometimes  to  visit 
Piso  here.  It  was  now  proposed  by  some  of 
the  conspirators  that  Piso  should  invite  Nero 
to  visit  him  at  this  villa,  as  if  to  witness  some 


A.D.  65.]     Piso's  Conspiracy.  239 


A  new  plan.  Piso's  objections. 


spectacles  or  shows  wliicli  should  be  arranged 
for  his  entertainment  there,  and  that  then 
persons  employed  for  the  pm'pose  should  sud- 
denly assassinate  him,  when  off  his  guard,  in 
the  midst  of  some  scene  of  convivial  pleasure. 
Piso,  however,  objected  to  this  plan.  He  con- 
ceived, he  said,  that  it  would  be  dishonorable 
in  him  to  commit  an  act  of  violence  upon  a 
guest  whom  he  had  invited  under  his  roof,  as 
his  friend.  He  was  willing  to  take  his  full 
share  of  the  responsibility  of  destroying  the 
tyrant  in  any  fair  and  manly  way,  but  he 
would  not  violate  the  sacred  rites  of  hospital- 
ity to  accomplish  the  end. 

So  this  plan  was  abandoned.  It  was  sup- 
posed, however,  that  Piso  had  another  and  a 
deeper  reason  for  his  unwillingness  that  iNero 
should  be  assassinated  at  Baise  than  his  re- 
gard for  his  honor  as  a  host.  He  thought,  it 
was  said,  that  it  would  not  be  safe  for  him  to 
be  away  from  Rome  when  the  death  of  [N^ero 
should  be  proclaimed  in  the  capitol,  lest  some 
other  Roman  nobleman  or  great  officer  of 
state  should  suddenly  arise  in  the  emergency 
and  assume  the  empire.  There  were,  in  fact, 
one  or  two  men  in  Rome  of  great  power  and 
influence,  of  whom  Piso  was  specially  jealous 


240  Keko.  [A.D.  65. 

Final  arrangements  agreed  upon. 

and  he  was  naturally  veiy  much  disposed  to 
be  on  his  guard  against  opening  any  door  of 
opportunity  for  them  to  rise  to  power.  To 
commit  a  great  crime  in  order  to  secure  his  own 
aggrandizement,  and  yet  to  manage  the  com- 
mission of  it  in  such  a  way  as  not  only  to  shut 
himself  off  from  the  expected  benefit,  but  to 
secure  that  benefit  to  a  hated  rival,  would 
have  been  a  very  fatal  misstep.  So  the  plan 
of  destroying  Nero  at  Baise  was  overruled. 

At  length  one  more,  and  as  it  proved  a  final 
scheme,  was  formed  for  accomplishing  the 
purpose  of  the  conspiracy.  It  was  determined 
to  execute  Nero  in  Kome,  at  a  great  public 
celebration  which  was  then  about  to  take 
place.  It  seems  that  it  was  sometimes  cus- 
tomary in  ancient  times  for  persons  who  had 
any  request  or  petition  to  make  to  an  em- 
peror or  king,  to  avail  themselves  of  the  occa- 
sion of  such  celebrations  to  present  them. 
Accordingly  it  was  determined  that  Lateranus 
should  approach  Nero  at  a  certain  time  du- 
ring the  celebration  of  the  games,  as  if  to 
offer  a  petition, — the  other  conspirators  being 
close  at  hand,  and  ready  to  act  at  a  moment's 
warning.  Lateranus,  as  soon  as  he  was  near 
enough,   was   to   kneel   down  and  suddenly 


A.D.  65.]     Piso's  CoNSPiKACY.  241 


Nero  to  be  slain  in  the  thoatro. 


draw  the  emperor's  robes  about  bis  feet,  and 
then  clasp  the  feet  thus  enveloped,  in  hig 
arms,  so  as  to  render  Nero  helpless.  The 
other  conspirators  were  then  to  rush  forward 
and  kill  their  victim  with  their  daggers.  In 
the  mean  time  while  Lateranus  and  his  asso- 
ciates were  perpetrating  this  deed  in  the  cir- 
cus where  the  games  were  to  be  exhibited, 
Piso  was  to  station  himself  in  a  certain  tem- 
ple not  far  distant,  to  await  the  result ;  while 
Fenius,  the  officer  of  the  guard,  who  has  al- 
ready been  mentioned  as  the  chief  military 
reliance  of  the  conspirators,  was  to  be  posted 
in  another  part  of  the  city,  with  a  military 
cavalcade  in  array,  ready  to  proceed  through 
the  streets  and  bring  Piso  forth  to  be  pro- 
claimed emperor  as  soon  as  he  should  receive 
the  tidings  that  Nero  had  been  slain.  It  is 
said  that  in  order  to  give  additional  eclat  and 
popularity  to  the  proceeding,  it  was  arranged 
that  Octavia,  a  daughter  of  Claudius,  the 
former  emperor,  was  to  be  brought  forward 
with  Piso  in  the  cavalcade,  as  if  to  combine 
the  influence  of  her  hereditary  claims,  what- 
ever they  might  be,  with  the  personal  popu- 
larity of  Piso  in  favor  of  the  new  government 
about  to  be  established. 
Q 


242  Nero.  [A.D.65. 

The  several  parts  assigned.  Scevinus. 

Thus  every  thing  was  arranged.  To  each 
conspirator,  his  own  particular  duty  was  as- 
signed, and,  as  the  day  approached  for  the 
execution  of  the  scheme,  every  thing  seemed 
to  promise  success.  It  is  obvious,  however, 
that,  as  the  affair  had  been  arranged,  all 
would  depend  upon  the  resolution  and  fidel- 
ity of  those  who  had  been  designated  to  stab 
the  emperor  with  their  daggers,  when  Late- 
ranus  should  have  grasped  his  feet.  The 
slightest  faltering  or  fear  at  this  point,  would 
be  fatal  to  the  whole  scheme.  Tlie  man  on 
whom  the  conspirators  chiefly  relied  for  this 
part  of  their  work,  was  a  certain  desperate 
profligate,  named  Scevinus,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  earliest  originators  of  the  conspir- 
acy, and  one  of  the  most  dauntless  and  deter- 
mined of  the  promoters  of  it,  so  far  as  words 
and  professions  could  go.  He  particularly 
desired  that  the  jDrivilege  of  plunging  the 
first  dagger  into  I^ero's  heart  should  be 
granted  to  him.  He  had  a  knife,  he  said, 
which  he  had  found  in  a  certain  temple  a  long 
time  before,  and  which  he  had  preserved  and 
carried  about  his  person  constantly  ever  since, 
for  some  such  deed.  So  it  M^as  arranged  that 
Scevinus  should  strike  the  fatal  blow. 


A.D.  65.]    Piso's  CoNSPiEACY.  243 

Excitement  ol"  Scevinus.  His  knifo. 

As  the  time  drew  nigh,  Scevinus  seemed 
to  grow  more  and  more  excited  with  the 
thoughts  of  what  was  before  him.  He  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  the  domestics  at  his 
house,  by  his  strange  and  mysterious  demean- 
or. He  held  a  long  and  secret  consultation 
with  Natalis,  another  conspirator,  on  the 
day  before  the  one  appointed  for  the  execu- 
tion of  the  plot,  under  such  circumstances  as 
to  increase  still  more  the  wonder  and  curios- 
ity of  his  servants.  He  formally  executed 
his  will,  as  if  he  were  approaching  some  dan- 
gerous crisis.  He  made  presents  to  his  serv- 
ants, and  actually  emancipated  one  or  two 
of  his  favorite  slaves.  He  talked  with  all  he 
met,  in  a  rapid  and  incoherent  manner,  on 
various  subjects,  and  with  an  air  of  gayety 
and  cheerfulness  which  it  was  obvious  to 
those  who  observed  him  was  all  assumed; 
for,  in  the  intervals  of  these  conversations, 
and  at  every  pause,  he  relapsed  into  a 
thoughtful  and  absent  mood,  as  if  he  were 
meditating  some  deep  and  dangerous  design. 

That  night,  too,  he  took  out  his  knife  from 
its  sheath,  and  gave  it  to  one  of  his  servants, 
named  Milichus,  to  be  ground.  He  directed 
Milichus  to  be  particularly  attentive  to  the 


244  Nero. 

lie  gives  his  knife  to  Milichus  to  be  ground. 


[A.D.  65. 


The  Knife. 


sharpening  of  the  point.  Before  Milichus 
brought  back  the  knife,  Scevinus  directed 
him  to  prepare  bandages  such  as  would  be 
suitable  for  binding  up  wounds  to  stop  the 
effusion  of  blood.  Milichus  observed  all  these 
directions,  and,  having  made  all  the  prepara- 
tions required,  according  io  the  orders  which 
Scevinus  had  given  him  —  keeping  the  knife, 
however,  still  in  his  possession — he  went  to 
report  the  whole  case  to  his  wife,  in  order  to 


A.D.  05  J     Piso's  CoNsriRACT.  245 

Milichus  confers  wiih  his  wile.  Their  suspicions. 

consult  with  her  in  res^^ect  to  the  meaning  of 
all  these  mysterious  indications. 

The  wife  of  Milichus  soon  came  to  the  con- 
clusion, that  these  strange  proceedings  could 
denote  nothing  less  than  a  plot  against  the 
life  of  the  emperor ;  and  she  urged  her  hus- 
band to  go  early  the  next  morning,  and  make 
known  his  discovery.  She  told  him  that  it 
was  impossible  that  such  a  conspiracy  should 
succeed,  for  it  must  be  known  to  a  great 
many  persons,  some  one  of  whom  would  be 
sure  to  divulge  it  in  hope  of  a  reward.  "  If 
you  divulge  it,"  she  added,  "  you  will  secm*e 
the  reward  for  yourself ;  and  if  you  do  not, 
you  will  be  supposed  to  be  privy  to  it,  when 
it  is  made  known  by  others,  and  so  will  be 
sacrificed  with  the  rest  to  Nero's  anger." 

Milichus  was  convinced  by  his  wife's  rea- 
sonings, and  on  the  following  morning,  as 
soon  as  the  day  dawned,  he  rose  and  repaired 
to  the  palace.  At  first  he  was  refused  ad- 
mittance, but  on  sending  word  to  the  oflicer  of 
the  household,  that  he  had  intelligence  of  the 
most  urgent  importance  to  communicate  to 
Nero,  they  allowed  him  to  come  in.  When 
brought  into  Nero's  presence,  he  told  his 
story,  describing  particularly  all  the  circum- 


246  I^EEo.  [A.D.  65. 

Revelations  made  by  Rlilichus. 

stances  that  he  had  observed,  which  had  led 
him  to  suppose  that  a  conspiracy  was  formed. 
He  spoke  of  the  long  and  mysterious  consul- 
tation which  Scevinus  and  Natalis  had  held 
together  on  the  preceding  day  ;  he  described 
the  singular  conduct  and  demeanor  which 
Scevinus  had  subsequently  manifested,  the 
execution  of  his  will,  his  wild  and  incoherent 
conversation,  his  directions  in  respect  to  the 
sharpening  of  the  knife  and  the  preparation 
of  the  bandages  ;  and,  to  crown  his  proofs,  he 
produced  the  knife  itself,  which  he  had  kept 
for  this  purpose,  and  which  thus  furnished,  in 
some  sense,  an  ocular  demonstration  of  the 
truth  of  what  he  had  declared. 

Officers  were  immediately  sent  to  seize 
Scevinus,  and  to  bring  him  into  the  presence 
of  the  emperor.  Scevinus  knew,  of  course, 
that  the  only  possible  hope  for  him  was  in  a 
bold  and  resolute  denial  of  the  charge  made 
against  him.  He  accordingly  denied,  in  the 
most  solemn  manner,  that  there  was  any  plot 
or  conspiracy  whatever,  and  he  attempted  to 
explain  all  the  circumstances  which  had 
awakened  his  servant's  suspicions.  The  knife 
or  dagger  which  Milichus  had  produced,  was 
an  ancient  family  relic,  he  said, — one  which 


A.D.  65.]     Piso's  Conspiracy.  247 

Scevinus's  defense.  Ho  denies  the  allegations  of  his  accuser. 

he  had  kept  for  a  long  time  in  his  chamber, 
and  which  his  servant  had  obtained  surrepti- 
tiously, for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  his  false 
and  malicious  charge  against  his  master.  As 
to  his  will,  he  often  made  and  signed  a  will 
anew,  he  said,  as  many  other  persons  were 
accustomed  to  do,  and  no  just  inference 
against  him  could  be  drawn  from  the  circum- 
stance that  he  had  done  this  on  the  preceding 
day ;  and  in  respect  to  the  bandages  and 
other  preparation  for  the  dressing  of  wounds 
which  Milichus  alledged  that  he  had  ordered, 
he  denied  the  statement  altogether.  He  had 
not  given  any  such  orders.  The  whole  story 
was  the  fabrication  of  a  vile  slave,  attempt- 
ing, by  these  infamous  means,  to  compass  his 
master's  destruction.  Scevinus  said  all  this 
with  so  bold  and  intrepid  a  tone  of  voice,  and 
with  such  an  air  of  injured  innocence,  that 
Kero  and  his  friends  were  half  disposed  to 
believe  that  he  was  unjustly  accused,  and  to 
dismiss  him  from  custody.  This  might  very 
probably  have  been  the  result,  and  Milichus 
himself  might  have  been  punished  for  making 
a  false  and  malicious  accusation,  had  not  the 
sagacity  of  his  wife,  who  was  all  the  time 
watching  these  proceedings   with   the   most 


248  Neeo.  [A.D.  65. 

Nero  perplexed.  The  truth  at  last  discovered. 

anxious  interest,  furnished  a  clew  which,  in 
the  end,  brought  the  whole  truth  to  light. 

She  called  attention  to  the  long  conference 
which  Scevinus  had  held  with  Natalis  on  the 
preceding  day.  Scevinus  Avas  accordingly 
questioned  concerning  it.  He  declared  that 
his  interview  was  nothing  but  an  innocent 
consultation  about  his  own  private  affairs.  He 
was  questioned  then  about  the  particulars  of 
the  conversation.  Of  course  he  was  compelled 
to  fabricate  a  statement  in  reply.  Natalis 
himself  was  then  sent  for,  and  examined, 
apart  from  Scevinus,  in  regard  to  the  conver- 
sation they  had  held  together.  Natalis,  of 
course,  fabricated  a  story  too, — but,  as  usual 
with  such  fabrications,  the  two  accounts 
having  been  invented  independently,  were 
inconsistent  with  each  other.  Nero  was  im- 
mediately convinced  that  the  men  were  guilty, 
and  that  some  sort  of  plot  or  conspiracy  bad 
been  formed.  He  ordered  that  they  should 
both  be  put  to  the  torture  in  order  to  compel 
them  to  confess  their  crime,  and  disclose  the 
names  of  their  accomplices.  In  the  mean 
time  they  were  sent  to  prison,  and  loaded 
with  irons,  to  be  kept  in  that  condition  until 
the  instruments  of  torture  could  be  prepared. 


A.D.  65,]    Piso's  Conspiracy.  249 

Sceviiius  and  Natalis  make  a  full  confession. 

When  at  length  they  were  brought  to  the 
rack,  the  sight  of  the  horrid  machinery  un- 
manned them.  They  begged  to  be  spared,  and 
promised  to  reveal  the  whole.  They  acknowl- 
edged that  a  conspiracy  had  been  formed, 
and  gave  the  names  of  all  who  had  partici- 
pated in  it.  They  explained  fully,  too,  the 
plans  which  had  been  devised,  and  as  in  this 
case,  though  they  were  examined  separately, 
their  statements  agreed,  Nero  and  his  friends 
were  convinced  of  the  truth  of  their  declara- 
tions, and  thus  at  last  the  plot  was  fully 
brought  to  light.  Nero  himself  was  struck 
w4th  consternation  and  terror  at  discovering 
the  formidable  danger  to  which  he  had  been 
exposed. 


250  Nero.  [A.D.  65. 

Epicliaris  denies  all  knowledge  of  the  conspiracy. 


Chapter    XI. 
The   Fate    of  the   Conspirators. 

S  soon  as  Nero  had  obtained  all  the  in- 
formation which  he  and  his  officers  could 
draw  from  Scevinus  and  Natalie,  and  had  sent' 
to  all  parts  of  the  city  to  arrest  those  whom 
the  forced  disclosures  of  these  witnesses  ac- 
cused, he  thought  of  Epicliaris,  who,  it  will  be 
recollected,  had  been  sent  to  prison,  and  who 
was  still  in  confinement  there.  He  ordered 
Epicharis  to  be  told  that  concealment  was  no 
longer  possible, — that  Scevinus  and  Natalis 
had  divulged  the  plot  in  full,  and  that  her 
only  hope  lay  in  amply  confessing  all  that 
she  knew. 

This  announcement  had  no  effect  upon 
Epicharis.  She  refused  to  admit  that  she 
knew  any  thing  of  any  conspiracy. 

Nero  then  ordered  that  she  should  be  put 
to  the  torture.  The  engines  were  prepared 
and  she  was  brought  before  them.  The  sight 
of  them  produced  no  change.  She  was  then 
placed  uj)on  the  wheel,  and   her  frail   and 


A.D.  65.]     The  Conspirators.  251 

Seizures  nnd  executions.  General  panic. 

delicate  limbs  were  stretched,  dislocated,  and 
broken,  until  she  had  endured  every  form  of 
agony  which  such  engines  could  produce. 
Her  constancy  remained  unshaken  to  the  end. 
At  length,  when  she  was  so  much  exhausted 
by  her  sufferings  that  she  could  no  longer  feci 
the  pain,  she  was  taken  away  to  be  restored 
by  medicaments,  cordials,  and  rest,  in  order 
that  she  might  recover  strength  to  endure 
new  tortures  on  the  following  day. 

In  the  mean  time,  panic  and  excitement 
reigned  throughout  the  city.  'Nero  doubled 
his  guards ;  he  garrisoned  his  palace ;  he 
brought  out  bodies  of  armed  men,  and  station- 
ed them  on  the  walls  of  the  city  and  in  the 
public  squares,  or  marched  them  to  and  fro 
about  the  streets.  As  fast  as  men  were 
accused  they  were  jDut  to  the  question,  and  as 
each  one  saw  that  the  only  hope  for  safety  to 
himself  was  in  freely  denouncing  others,  the 
names  of  supposed  confederates  were  revealed 
in  great  numbers,  and  as  fast  as  these  names 
were  obtained  the  men  were  seized  and  im- 
prisoned or  executed — the  innocent  and  the 
guilty  together. 

On  the  very  first  announcement  that  the 
plot  had  been  discovered,  those  of  the  con- 


252  :N'ero.  [A.D.  65. 

Death  of  Piso.  The  conspirator's  discouraged. 

spirators  who  were  still  at  large  made  all 
haste  to  the  house  of  Piso.  They  found  him 
prostrate  in  consternation  and  despair.  Thej 
urged  him  immediately  to  come  forth,  and  to 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  an  armed  force, 
and  fight  for  his  life.  Desperate  as  such  an 
undertaking  might  be,  no  other  alternative, 
they  said,  was  now  left  to  him.  But  all  was 
of  no  avail.  The  conspirators  could  not  arouse 
him  to  action.  They  were  obliged  to  retire 
and  leave  him  to  his  fate.  He  opened  the 
veins  in  his  arm,  and  bled  to  death  while  the 
soldiers  whom  Nero  had  sent  were  breaking 
into  his  house  to  arrest  him. 

Being  thus  deprived  of  their  leader,  the 
conspirators  gave  up  all  hope  of  effecting  the 
revolution,  and  thought  only  of  the  means  of 
screening  themselves  from  Nero's  vengeance. 

In  the  mean  time,  Epicharis  had  so  far  re- 
covered during  the  night,  that  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  it  was  determined  to  bring  her 
again  to  the  torture.  She  was  utterly  help- 
less,— her  limbs  having  been  broken  by  the 
execution  of  the  day  before.  The  officers  ac- 
cordingly put  her  into  a  sort  of  sedan  chair,  or 
covered  litter,  in  order  that  she  might  be  car- 
ried by  bearers  to  the  place  of  torture.  She  was 


A.D. 65.]     The    Conspirators.  253 


Epicharis  at  the  torture. 


llcr  death. 


Bringing  Epicharis  to  the  Torture. 


borne  in  this  way  to  the  spot,  but  when  the 
executioners  opened  the  door  of  the  chair  to 
take  her  out,  they  beheld  a  shocking  spectacle. 
Their  wretched  victim  had  escaped  from  their 
power.  She  was  hanging  by  the  neck,  dead. 
She  had  contrived  to  make  a  noose  in  one  end 
of  the  cincture  with  which  she  was  girded,  and 
fastening  the  other  end  to  some  part  of  the 
chair  within,  she  had  succeeded  in  bringing 
the  weight  of  her  body  upon  the  noose  around 


254  l^EEO.  [A.D.65. 

The  conspirators  tried  before  Nero.  Flaviua 

her  neck,  and  had  died  without  disturbing  her 
bearers  as  they  walked  along. 

In  the  mean  time  the  various  parties  that 
were  accused  were  seized  in  great  numbers, 
and  were  brought  in  for  trial  before  a  sort  of 
court-martial  which  Nero  himself,  with  some 
of  his  principal  officers,  held  for  this  purpose 
in  the  gardens  of  the  palace.  The  number  of 
those  accused  was  so  large  that  the  avenues 
to  the  garden  were  blocked  up  with  them,  and 
with  the  parties  of  soldiers  that  conducted 
tliem,  and  multitudes  were  detained  together 
at  the  gates,  in  a  state,  of  course,  of  awful 
suspense  and  agitation,  waiting  their  turns. 
It  happened  singularly  enough  that  among 
those  whom  Nero  summoned  to  serve  on  the 
tribunal  for  the  trial  of  the  prisoners  were  two 
of  the  principal  conspirators,  who  had  not  yet 
been  accused.  These  were  Subrius  Flavins 
and  Fenius  Eufus,  whom  the  reader  will  per- 
haps recollect  as  prominent  members  of  the 
plot.  Flavins  was  the  man  who  had  once 
undertaken  to  kill  the  emperor  in  the  streets, 
and  while  standing  near  him  at  the  tribunal, 
he  made  signs  to  the  other  conspirators  that 
he  was  ready  to  stab  him  to  the  heart  now, 
if  they  would  but  say  the  word.     But  Rufus 


A.D.  65.]    The  Conspieators.  255 

Demeanor  of  Rufus  in  the  garden.  He  is  accused. 

restrained  him,  anxiously  signifying  to  him 
that  he  was  by  no  means  to  attempt  it.  Rufus 
in  fact  seems  to  have  been  as  weak-minded 
and  irresolute  as  Flavins  was  desperate  and 
bold. 

In  fact  although  Kufus,  when  summoned  to 
attend  in  the  garden,  for  the  trial  of  the  con- 
spirators, did  not  dare  to  disobey,  he  yet  found 
it  very  difficult  to  summon  resolution  to  face 
the  appalling  dangers  of  his  position.  He 
took  his  place  at  last  among  the  others,  and 
with  a  forced  external  composure  which  ill 
concealed  the  desperate  agitation  and  anxiety 
which  reigned  in  his  soul,  he  gave  himself  to 
the  work  of  trying  and  condemning  his  con- 
federates and  companions.  For  a  time  no 
one  of  them  betrayed  him.  But  at  length  dur- 
ing the  examination  of  Scevinus,  in  his  solici- 
tikle  to  appear  zealous  in  Nero's  cause  he 
overacted  his  part,  so  far  as  to  press  Scevinus 
too  earnestly  with  his  inquiries,  until  at 
length  Scevinus  turned  indignantly  toward 
him  saying — 

"Why  do  you  ask  these  questions?  I^o 
person  in  Kome  knows  more  about  this  con- 
spiracy than  you,  and  if  you  feel  so  devoted 
to  this  humane  and  virtuous  prince  of  yours, 


256  :^rERO.  [A.D.  65. 

Rufus  begs  fur  his  life.  His  execution. 

sliow  jour  gratitude  by  telling  him,  yourself, 
the  whole  story." 

Rufus  was  perfectly  overwhelmed  at  this 
sudden  charge,  and  could  not  say  a  word. 
He  attempted  to  speak,  but  he  faltered  and 
stammered,  and  then  sank  down  into  his  seat, 
pale  and  trembling,  and  covered  with  confu- 
sion. Nero  and  the  other  members  of  the 
tribunal  were  convinced  of  his  guilt.  He  was 
seized  and  put  in  irons,  and  after  the  same 
summary  trial  to  which  the  rest  were  subject- 
ed, condemned  to  die.  He  begged  for  his 
life  with  the  most  earnest  and  piteous  lamen- 
tations, but  Nero  was  relentless,  and  he  was 
immediately  beheaded. 

The  conspirator  Flavius  displayed  a  very 
different  temper.  When  he  came  to  be  ac- 
cused, at  first  he  denied  the  charge,  and  he 
appealed  to  his  whole  past  character  and 
course  of  life  as  proof  of  his  innocence. 
Those  who  had  informed  against  him,  how- 
ever, soon  furnished  incontestable  evidence 
of  his  guilt,  and  then  changing  his  ground,  he 
openly  acknowledged  his  share  in  the  con- 
spiracy and  gloried  in  it  even  in  the  presence 
of  Nero  himself.  When  Nero  asked  him  how 
he  could  so  violate  his  oath  of  allegiance  and 


A.D.  65.]     The  Conspirators.  257 

Flavius  is  accused.  His  desperation.  He  is  executed. 

fidelity  as  to  conspire  against  the  life  of  his 
sovereign,  he  turned  to  him  with  looks  of 
open  and  angry  defiance  and  said — • 

"  It  was  because  I  hated  and  detested  you, 
unnatural  monster  as  you  are.  There  was  a 
time  when  there  was  not  a  soldier  in  your  ser- 
vice who  was  more  devoted  to  you  than  I. 
But  that  time  has  passed.  You  have  drawn 
upon  yourself  the  detestation  and  abhorrence 
of  all  mankind  by  your  cruelties  and  your 
crimes.  You  have  murdered  yonr  mother. 
You  have  murdered  your  wife.  You  are  an 
incendiary.  And  not  content  with  perpetrat- 
ing these  enormous  atrocities,  you  have  de- 
graded yourself  in  the  eyes  of  all  Rome  to  the 
level  of  the  lowest  mountebank  and  bufibon, 
60  as  to  make  yourself  the  object  of  contempt 
as  well  as  abhorrence.    I  hate  and  defy  you." 

Nero  was  of  course  astonished  and  almost 
confounded  at  hearing  such  words.  He  had 
never  listened  to  language  like  this  before. 
His  astonishment  was  succeeded  by  violent 
rage,  and  he  ordered  Flavius  to  be  led  out  to 
immediate  execution. 

The  centurion  to  whom  the  execution  was 
committed  conducted  Flavius  without  the  city 
to  a  field,  and  then  set  the  soldiers  at  work  to 
R 


258  Neeo.  [A.D.  G5. 

The  execution  of  Flavius.  The  executioner's  fears. 

dig  the  grave,  as  was  customary  at  military 
executions,  while  he  made  the  other  necessary 
preparations.  The  soldiers,  in  their  haste, 
shaped  the  excavation  rudely  and  imperfectly. 
Flavius  ridiculed  their  work,  asking  them,  in 
a  tone  of  contempt,  if  they  considered  that  the 
proper  way  to  dig  a  military  grave.  And 
when  at  length,  after  all  the  preparations  had 
been  made,  and  the  fatal  moment  had  ar- 
rived, the  tribune  who  was  in  command  called 
upon  him  to  uncover  his  neck  and  stand  forth 
courageously  to  meet  his  fate — he  replied  by 
exhorting  the  officer  himself  to  be  resolute 
and  firm.  "See,"  said  he,  "if  you  can  show 
as  much  nerve  in  striking  the  blow,  as  I  can 
in  meeting  it."  To  cut  down  such  a  man, 
under  such  circumstances,  was  of  course  a 
very  dreadful  duty,  even  for  a  Roman  sol- 
dier, and  the  executioner  faltered  greatly  in 
the  performance  of  it.  The  decapitation 
should  have  been  effected  by  a  single  blow ; 
but  the  officer  found  his  strength  failing  him 
when  he  came  to  strike,  so  that  a  second  blow 
was  necessary  to  complete  the  severance  of 
the  head  from  the  body.  Tlie  tribune  was 
afraid  that  this,  when  represented  to  Nero, 
might  bring  him  under  suspicion,  as  if  it  in 


A.D.  65.]     The  CoNSPiBATOSs.  259 


His  character  and  public  poMtion. 


dicated  some  shrinking  on  his  part  from  a 
prompt  and  vigorous  action  in  putting  down 
the  conspiracy  ;  and  so  on  his  return  to  Nero 
he  boasted  of  his  performance  as  if  it  had 
been  just  as  he  intended.  "I  made  the  trai- 
tor die  twice,"  said  he,  "by  taking  two  blows 
to  dispatch  him." 

But  perhaps  the  most  melancholy  of  all  the 
results  of  this  most  unfortunate  conspiracy, 
was  the  fate  of  Seneca.  Seneca,  it  will  be 
remembered,  had  been  Nero's  instructor  and 
guardian  in  former  years,  and  subsequently 
one  of  his  chief  ministers  of  state.  He  was 
now  almost  seventy  years  of  age,  and  besides 
the  veneration  in  which  he  was  held  on  this 
account,  and  the  respect  that  was  paid  to  the 
exalted  position  which  he  had  occupied  for  so 
long  a  period,  he  was  very  highly  esteemed  for 
his  intellectual  endowments  and  for  his  private 
character.  His  numerous  writings,  in  fact, 
had  acquired  for  him  an  extensive  literary 
fame. 

But  Nero  hated  him.  He  had  long  wished 
him  out  of  the  w^ay.  It  was  currently  reported, 
and  generally  believed,  that  he  had  attemptedi 
to  poison  him.  However  this  may  be,  he 
certainly  desired  to  find  some  occasion  of  pro- 


260  Nero.  [A.D.  65. 

Evidence  against  Seneca.  His  journey  to  Rome. 

ceeding  against  him,  and  such  an  occasion 
was  furnished  by  the  developments  connected 
with  this  conspiracy. 

I^^atalis,  in  the  course  of  his  testimony,  said 
that  he  supposed  that  Seneca  was  concerned 
in  the  plot,  for  he  recollected  that  he  was 
once  sent  to  him,  while  he  was  confined  to  his 
house  by  illness,  with  a  message  from  Piso. 
The  message  was,  that  Piso  had  repeatedly 
called  at  his,  that  is,  Seneca's  house,  but  had 
been  unable  to  obtain  admittance.  The  an- 
swer which  Seneca  had  returned  was,  that  the 
reason  why  he  had  not  received  visitors  was, 
that  the  state  of  his  health  was  very  infirm, 
bat  that  he  entertained  none  but  friendly 
feelings  toward  Piso,  and  wished  him  pros- 
perity and  success. 

Nero  determined  to  consider  this  as  proof 
that  Seneca  was  privy  to  the  conspiracy,  and 
that  he  secretly  abetted  it.  At  least  he  de- 
termined, for  a  first  step,  to  send  an  officer 
with  a  band  of  armed  men  to  arrest  him,  and 
to  lay  the  crime  to  his  charge.  Seneca  was 
not  in  the  city  at  this  time.  He  had  been 
absent  in  Campania,  wliich  was^a  beautiful 
rural  region,  south  of  Rome,  back  from  Mis- 
enum.     He  was,  however,  that'  very  day  on 


A.D.  65.]     The  CoNSPiRATOES.  261 

Seneca  arrested.  His  defence.  The  officer's  report. 

Lis  return  to  Rome,  and  Silvanus,  the  officer 
whom  ISTero  sent  to  him,  met  liim  on  the  way, 
at  a  villa  which  he  possessed  a  few  miles  from 
Rome,  The  name  of  this  villa  was  l^omen- 
tanum.*  Seneca  had  stopped  at  the  villa  to 
spend  the  night,  and  was  seated  at  the  table 
with  Paulina  his  wife,  when  Silvanus  and  his 
troop  arrived. 

The  soldiers  surrounded  the  house,  so  as  to 
prevent  all  possibility  of  escape,  and  posted 
sentinels  at  the  doors.  Silvanus  and  some  of 
his  associates  then  went  in,  and  entering  the 
hall  where  Seneca  was  at  supper,  they  in- 
formed him  for  what  purpose  they  were  come. 
Silvanus  repeated  what  I^atalis  had  testified 
in  respect  to  the  messages  which  had  passed 
between  Seneca  and  Piso.  Seneca  admitted 
that  the  statement  was  true,  but  he  declared 
that  the  word  which  he  had  sent  to  Piso  was 
only  an  ordinary  message  of  civility  and 
friendliness  ;  it  meant  nothing  more.  Find- 
ing that  no  farther  explanation  could  be  ob- 
tained, Silvanus  left  Seneca  in  his  villa,  with 
a  strong  guard  posted  around  the  house,  and 
returned  to  Rome  to  report  to  Nero. 

"When  ISTero  had  heard  the  report,  he  asked 
*  See  map.    Frontispiece, 


202  Nero.  [A.D.  65. 

Nero  decides  that  Seneca  must  die. 

Silvauus  whether  Seneca  appeared  suffi- 
ciently terrified  by  the  accusation  to  make 
it  probable  that  he  would  destroy  himself 
that  night.*  Silvanus  answered  no.  "  He 
displayed,"  said  he,  "  no  marks  of  fear. 
There  was  no  agitation,  no  sign  of  regret,  no 
token  of  sorrow.  His  words  and  looks  be- 
spoke a  mind  calm,  confident  and  firm." 

"Go  to  him,"  rejoined  Nero,  "and  tell 
him  that  he  must  make  up  his  mind  to  die." 

Silv^anus  was  thunderstruck  at  receiving 
this  order.  He  could  not  belieye  it  possible 
that  Nero  would  really  put  to  death  a  man  so 
venerable  in  years  and  wisdom,  who  had  been 
to  him  all  his  life,  in  the  place  of  a  father. 
Instead  of  proceeding  directly  to  Seneca's 
house  he  went  to  consult  with  the  captain  of 
the  guard,  who,  though  really  one  of  the  con- 
spirators, had  not  yet  been  accused,  and  was 
still  at  liberty,  though  trembling  with  appre- 

*  It  seems  to  have  been  considered  by  public  men  in  those 
days,  that  to  resolve  on  selMestruction  was  a  much  more 
honorable  course  to  pursue  in  an  e.Ktreme  emergency  like 
tills,  than  to  wait  to  be  condemned  and  executed  by  the  of- 
ficers of  the  law.  The  attempt  to  frighten  a  man  into  the 
act  of  killing  himself  was  accordingly  one  of  the  various 
modes  which  a  tyrant  might  resort  to,  to  remove  those  who 
were  obnoxious  to  him. 


A.D.  65.]     The  Conspieators.  •  263 

The  death  of  Seneca.  Grief  and  despair  of  Paulina. 

liension  at  the  immineuce  of  his  danger.  The 
captain,  after  hearing  the  case,  said  that 
nothing  was  to  be  done  but  to  deliver  the 
message.  Silvanus  then  went  to  Seneca's 
vilhi,  but  not  being  able  to  endure  the  thought 
of  being  himself  the  bearer  of  such  tidings, 
sent  in  a  centurion  with  the  message. 

Seneca  received  it  with  calm  composure, 
and  immediately  made  preparations  for  ter- 
minating his  life.  His  wife  Paulina  insisted 
on  sharing  his  fate.  He  gathered  his  friends 
around  him  to  give  them  his  parting  counsels 
and  bid  them  farewell,  and  ordered  his  ser- 
vants to  make  the  necessary  preparations  for 
opening  his  veins.  Then  ensued  one  of  those 
sad  and  awful  scenes  of  mourning  and  death, 
with  which  the  page  of  ancient  history  is  so 
often  darkened — forming  pictures,  as  they  do, 
too  shocking  to  be  exhibited  in  full  detail. 
The  calm  composure  of  Seneca,  was  con- 
trasted on  the  one  hand  with  the  bitter  an- 
guish and  loud  lamentations  of  his  domestics 
and  friends,  and  on  the  other  with  Paulina's 
mute  despair.  When  the  veins  were  opened, 
the  blood  at  first  would  not  flow,  and  various 
artificial  means  were  resorted  to,  to  accelerate 
the  extinction  of  life ;  at  last,  however,  Sen- 


264  •  Nebo.  [A.D.  G5. 

They  save  Paulina's  life.  The  consul  Vestinns. 

eca  ceased  to  breathe.  The  domestics  of  the 
family  then  begged  and  entreated  the  soldiers 
with  many  tears,  that  they  might  be  allowed 
to  save  Paulina  if  it  were  not  too  late.  The 
soldiers  consented  ;  so  the  women  bound  up 
her  wounds,  as  she  lay  insensible  and  help- 
less before  them,  and  thus  stopping  the  far- 
ther eifusion  of  blood,  they  watched  over  her 
with  assiduous  care,  in  hopes  to  restore  her. 
They  succeeded.  They  brought  her  back  to 
life,  or  rather  to  a  semblance  of  life  ;  for  she 
never  really  recovered  so  as  to  be  herself 
again,  during  the  few  lonely  and  desolate 
years  through  which  she  afterward  lingered. 

There  was  another  Roman  citizen  of  the 
highest  rank  who  fell  an  innocent  victim  to 
the  angry  passions  which  the  discovery  of 
this  plot  awakened  in  Nero's  mind.  It  was 
the  consul  Vestinus.  Yestijius  was  a  man 
of  great  loftiness  of  character,  and  had  never 
evinced  that  pliancy  of  temper,  and  that  sub- 
missiveness  to  the  imperial  Avill,  which  Nero 
required.  His  position,  too,  as  consul,  which 
was  the  highest  civil  office  in  the  common- 
wealth, gave  him  a  vast  influence  over  the 
people  of  Rome,  so  that  Nero  feared  as  well 
as  hated  him.     In  fact,  so  great  was  his  in- 


A.D.  65.]    The  Conspirators.  265 


Large  force  sent  to  arrest  Vestinue. 


dependence  of  character,  and  his  intracta- 
bility, as  it  was  sometimes  called,  that  the 
conspirators,  after  mature  deliberation,  had 
concluded  not  to  propose  to  him  to  engage  in 
the  plot.  But,  though  he  was  thus  innocent, 
Nero  did  not  certainly  know  the  fact,  and,  at 
any  rate,  such  an  opportunity  to  effect  the. 
destruction  of  a  hated  rival,  was  too  good  to' 
be  lost,  Yery  soon,  therefore,  after  the  dis- 
closure of  the  conspiracy  had  been  made, 
Nero  sent  a  tribune,  at  the  head  of  five  hun- 
dred men,  to  arrest  the  consul. 

This  large  force  was  designated  for  the  ser- 
vice, partly  because, — on  account  of  the  high 
rank  and  office  of  the  accused, — Nero  did  not 
know  what  means  of  resistance  the  consul 
might  be  able  to  command,  and  partly  be- 
cause his  house,  which  was  situated  in  the 
most  public  part  of  the  city,  overlooking  the 
Forum,  was  in  itself  a  sort  of  citadel,  of 
which  the  various  officers  of  Yestinus's  house- 
hold, and  his  numerous  retainers,  constituted 
a  sort  of  garrison.  It  happened  that,  at  the 
time  when  Nero  sent  his  troop  to  make  the 
arrest,  Yestinus  was  entertaining  a  large 
party  of  friends  at  supper.  The  festivities 
were  suddenly  interrupted,  and  the  whole 


266  Nero.  [A.D.  65. 

Vestinus  arrested.  His  extraordinary  fate. 

company  were  thrown  into  a  state  of  the  most 
frightful  excitement  and  confusion,  by  the 
sudden  onset  of  this  large  body  of  armed 
men,  who  besieged  the  doors,  blocked  up  all 
the  avenues  of  approach,  and,  surrounding 
and  guarding  the  house  on  every  side,  shut 
all  the  inmates  in,  as  if  they  were  investing 

.e  castle  of  an  enemy.     Certain  soldiers  of 

the  guard  were  then  sent  in  to  Yestinus  in 

the  banqueting- room,  to  inform  him  that  the 

>  tribune  wished  to  speak  with  him  on  impor- 

tanl  business. 

The  consul  knew  the  character  of  Nero, 
and  the  feelings  which  the  tyrant  entertained 
toward  him  too  well,  and  saw  too  clearly  the 
advantage  which  the  discovery  of  the  conspir- 
acy gave  to  Nero,  not  to  jjerceive  at  once  that 
his  fate  was  sealed ;  and  the  action  which  he 
took  in  this  frightful  emergency  comported 
well  with  his  insubmissive  and  intractable 
character.  Instead  of  obeying  the  summons 
of  the  tribune,  he  repaired  immediately  to  a 
private  apartment,  summoned  his  physician, 
directed  a  bath  to  be  prepared,  ordered  the 
physician  to  open  his  veins,  lay  down  in  the 
bath  to  promote  the  flowing  of  the  blood,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  ceased  to  breathe. 


A.D.  65.]    The  CoNSPiKATORS.  267 

Nero  is  pleased.  The  guests  at  Vestinus's  supper. 

The  announcement  of  the  consul's  death, 
when  it  came  to  be  reported  to  Nero,  of 
course  gave  him  great  satisfaction.  He  con- 
tinued the  guards,  however,  still  about  the 
house,  keeping  the  guests  imprisoned  in  the 
banqueting-room  for  many  hours.  Of  course, 
during  all  this  time,  the  minds  of  these 
guests  were  in  a  state  of  extreme  distress  and 
a23prehension ,  inasmuch  as  every  one  of  them 
must  necessarily  have  felt  in  immediate  dan- 
ger. "When  the  anxiety  and  agitation  which 
they  felt,  was  reported  to  Nero,  he  was 
greatly  entertained  by  it,  and  said  that  they 
were  paying  for  their  consular  supper.  He 
kept  them  in  this  state  of  suspense  until 
nearly  morning,  and  then  ordered  the  guards 
to  be  withdrawn. 

The  number  of  victims  who  were  sacrificed 
to  Nero's  resentment  in  consequence  of  this 
conspiracy,  was  very  large  ;  so  that  the  streets 
were  filled  with  executions  and  with  funeral 
processions  for  many  days.  Universal  grief 
and  panic  prevailed,  and  yet  no  one  dared 
to  manifest  the  slightest  indications  of  sorrow 
or  of  fear.  The  people  supposed  that  pity  for 
the  suiferers,  or  anxiety  for  themselves,  would 
be  interpreted  as  proofs  that  they  had  been 


268  Keeo.  [A.D.  65. 

Appearances  of  public  rejoicing. 

concerned  in  the  conspiracy ;  for  multitudes 
of  those  who  had  been  put  to  death,  were 
condemned  on  pretexts  and  pretended  proofs 
of  the  most  frivolous  character.  Every  one, 
therefore,  even  of  those  whose  nearest  and 
dearest  friends  had  been  killed,  was  com- 
pelled to  assume  all  the  appearances  of  ex- 
travagant joy  that  so  wicked  a  plot  against 
the  life  of  so  wise  and  excellent  a  prince,  had 
been  exposed,  and  the  guilty  devisers  of  it 
brought  to  punishment.  Parents  whose  sons 
had  been  slain,  and  wives  and  children  who 
had  lost  their  husbands  and  fathers,  were 
thus  compelled  to  unite  in  the  congratulations 
and  expressions  of  joy  which  were  every- 
where addressed  to  the  emperor.  Proces- 
sions were  formed,  addresses  were  made,  sac- 
rifices were  offered,  games,  spectacles,  and 
illuminations  without  number  were  celebrated, 
to  testify  to  the  general  rejoicing ;  and  thus 
the  city  presented  all  the  outward  appear- 
ances of  universal  gladness  and  joy,  while,  in 
truth,  the  hearts  of  men  were  everywhere 
overwhelmed  with  anxiety,  grief,  and  fear. 

When  at  length  a  sufficient  number  of  the 
citizens  of  Rome  had  been  destroyed,  Nero 
assembled  the  army,  and  after  making   an 


A.D.  65.]     The  Conspieators.  269 

Nero  grants  gifts  to  the  army  and  to  the  people. 

address  to  the  troops  on  the  subject  of  the 
conspiracy,  and  on  his  hapj)y  escape  from  the 
danger,  he  divided  an  immense  sum  of  money 
from  the  public  treasury  among  the  soldiers, 
so  as  to  give  a  very  considerable  largess  to 
each  man.  He  also  distributed  among  them 
a  vast  amount  of  provisions  from  the  public 
granaries.  This  act,  and  the  connection  be- 
tween ISTero  and  the  troops  which  it  illustrates, 
explain  what  would  otherwise  seem  an  in- 
scrutable mystery,  namely,  how  it  can  be 
possible  for  one  man  to  bring  the  immense 
population  of  such  an  empire  as  that  of  ancient 
Home  so  entirely  under  his  power,  that  any 
number  of  the  most  prominent  and  influential 
of  the  citizens  shall  be  siezed  and  beheaded, 
or  thrust  through  the  heart  with  swords  and 
daggers  at  a  word  or  a  nod  from  him.  The 
explanation  is,  tlia  army.  Give  to  the  single 
tyrant  one  or  two  hundred  thousand  desper- 
adoes, well  banded  together,  and  comj)letely 
armed,  under  a  compact  between  them  by 
which  he  says,  "  Help  me  to  control,  to  domi- 
neer over,  and  to  plunder  the  industrial 
classes  of  society,  and  I  will  give  you  a  large 
share  of  the  spoil,"  and  the  work  is  very  easy. 
The  governments   that  have  existed   in  the 


270  ISTeeo.  [A.D.  65. 

Nature  of  despotic  government.  Secret  of  their  power. 

world  have  generally  been  formed  on  this 
plan.  They  have  been  simply  vast  armies 
authorized  to  collect  their  own  pay  by  the 
systematic  plunder  of  the  millions  whose 
peaceful  industry  feeds  and  clothes  the  world. 
The  remedy  which  mankind  is  now  beginning 
to  discover  and  apply  is  equally  simple.  The 
millions  who  do  the  work  are  learning  to  keep 
the  arms  in  their  own  hands,  and  to  forbid 
the  banding  together  of  masses  of  troops  for 
the  purpose  of  exalting  pride  and  cruelty  to 
a  position  of  absolute  and  irresponsible  power. 
In  Nero's  case,  so  great  was  the  awe  which 
the  terrible  power  of  the  Roman  legions  in- 
spired, that  even  the  Senate  bowed  humbly 
before  it,  and  joined  in  the  general  adulation 
of  the  hated  tyrant.  They  decreed  oblations 
and  public  thanksgivings ;  they  erected  new 
temples  to  express  their  gratitude  to  the  gods 
for  so  signal  a  deliverance ;  they  instituted 
new  games  and  festivities  to  express  the  gene- 
ral joy,  and  erected  statues  and  monuments 
in  honor  of  those  who  had  contributed  to  the 
discovery  of  the  plot.  The  knife  or  dagger 
which  Milichus  had  produced  as  the  one  by 
which  ISTero  was  to  have  been  slain,  was  pre- 
served as  a  sacred  relic.     A  suitable  inscrip- 


A.D.  65.]    The  Conspieatobs.  271 

Doubt  in  respect  to  Pieo's  conspiracy. 

tion  was  placed  upon  it,  and  it  was  deposited, 
with  all  solemnity,  in  one  of  the  temples  of 
the  city,  there  to  remain  a  memorial  of  the 
event  for  all  future  generations.  In  a  word, 
the  tyrant's  escape  from  death  called  forth 
all  the  outward  manifestations  of  joy  which 
could  have  been  deserved  by  the  greatest 
public  benefactor. 

And  yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  such  was 
the  estimate  which  public  sentiment  really 
entertained  of  the  true  character  of  Nero,  that 
it  was  considered  extremely  doubtful  at  the 
time,  and  has,  in  fact,  been  so  considered  ever 
since,  whether  there  ever  was  any  conspiracy 
at  all.  It  was  very  extensively  believed  that 
the  whole  pretended  discovery  of  the  plot  was 
an  ingenious  device  on  the  part  of  Nero,  to 
furnish  him  with  plausible  pretexts  for  de- 
stroying a  great  number  of  men  who  were 
personally  obnoxious  to  him.  And  were  it 
not  almost  impossible  to  believe  that  such 
monstrous  wickedness  and  tyranny  as  that  of 
Nero  could  riot  so  long  over  Komans  without 
arousing  them  to  some  desperate  attempts  to 
destroy  him,  we  might  ourselves  adopt  this 
view,  and  suppose  that  this  celebrated  plot 
was  wholly  a  fabrication. 


272  JSTero.  [A.D.  65. 

Nero  becomes  more  depraved  and  abandoned  than  ever. 


Chapter   XII. 
The   Expedition    into    Greece. 

AS  the  excitement  which  had  been  pro- 
duced by  the  discovery,  real  or  pre- 
tended, of  Piso's  conspiracy,  and  by  the  innu- 
merable executions  which  were  attendant 
upon  it,  passed  away,  Nero  returned  to  his 
usual  mode  of  life,  and  in  fact  abandoned 
himself  to  the  indulgence  of  his  brutal  pro- 
pensities and  passions  moi"e  recklessly  than 
ever.  He  sjaent  his  days  in  sloth,  and  his 
nights  in  rioting  and  carousals,  and  was  rap- 
idly becoming  an  object  of  general  contempt 
and  detestation.  The  only  ambition  which 
seemed  to  animate  him  was  to  excel,  or  rather 
to  have  the  credit  of  excelling,  as  a  player 
and  singer  on  the  public  stage. 

Not  long  after  the  period  of  the  conspiracy 
described  in  the  last  two  chapters,  and  when 
the  excitement  connected  with  it  had  in  some 
measure  subsided,  the  attention  of  the  public 
began  to  be  turned  toward  a  great  festival,  the 
time  for  which  was  then  approaching.     This 


A.D.  65.]       The  Expedition.  273 


Nuro  appears  on  the  public  stage. 


festival  was  celebrated  with  spectacles  and 
games  of  various  kinds,  which  "were  called 
the  quinquennial  games,  from  the  circum- 
stance that  the  period  for  the  celebration  of 
tliem  recurred  once  in  live  years.  A  princi- 
pal part  of  the  performances  on  these  occa- 
sions consisted  of  contests  for  prizes,  which 
were  offered  for  those  who  chose  to  compete 
for  them.  Some  of  these  prizes  were  for  those 
who  excelled  in  athletic  exercises,  and  in 
feats  of  strength  and  dexterity,  while  others 
were  for  singers  and  dancers,  and  other  per- 
formers on  the  public  stage.  'Nevo  could  not*^ 
resist  the  temptation  to  avail  himself  of  this 
grand  occasion  for  the  display  of  his  powers, 
and  he  prepared  to  appear  among  the  other 
actors  and  mountebanks  as  a  competitor  for 
the  theatrical  prizes. 

Performers  on  the  public  stage  were  re- 
garded in  ancient  days  mucli  as  they  are 
now.  They  were  applauded,  flattered,  ca- 
ressed, and  most  extravagantly  paid ;  but 
after  all  they  formed  a  social  class  distinct 
from  all  others,  and  of  a  very  low  grade. 
Just  as  now  great  public  singers  are  rewarded 
sometimes  with  the  most  princely  revenues, — ■ 
not  twice  or  three  times,  but  ten  times  per- 


274  Keko.  [A.D.  65. 

Estimation  in  which  players  were  held. 

haps  the  amount  ever  paid  to  the  highest 
ministers  of  state, — and  receive  the  most  flat- 
tering attentions  from  the  highest  classes  of 
society,  and  are  followed  by  crowds  in  the 
public  streets,  and  enter  cities  escorted  by 
grand  processions,  while  yet  there  is  scarce  a 
respectable  citizen  of  the  better  class  who 
would  not  feel  himself  demeaned  at  seeing 
his  son  or  his  daughter  on  the  stage  by  their 
side. 

In  the  same  manner  public  sentiment  was 
such  in  the  city  of  Rome,  in  Nero's  day,  that 
to  see  the  chief  military  magistrate  of  the 
commonwealth  publicly  performing  on  the 
stage,  and  entering  into  an  eager  competition 
with  the  singing  men  and  women,  the  low 
comedians,  the  dancers,  the  buffoons,  and 
other  such  characters,  that  figured  there,  was 
a  very  humiliating  spectacle.  In  fact,  when 
the  time  for  the  quinquennial  celebration  ap- 
proached, the  government  attempted  to  pre- 
vent the  necessity  of  the  emperor's  actual  ap- 
pearing upon  the  stage,  by  passing  in  the 
Senate,  among  other  decrees  relating  to  the 
celebrations,  certain  votes  awarding  honorary 
crowns  and  prizes  to  Nero,  by  anticipation, — 
thus  acknowledffinof  him  to  be  the  first  with- 


A.D.  65.]       The  Expedition.  275 

Action  of  the  Senate.  Theatrical  excitements. 

out  requiring  the  test  of  actual  competition. 
But  this  did  not  satisfy  J^ero.  In  fact,  the 
honor  of  being  publicly  proclaimed  victor  was 
not  probably  the  chief  allurement  which  at- 
tracted him.  He  wished  to  enjoy  the  excite- 
ment and  the  pleasure  of  the  contest, — to  see 
the  vast  audience  assembled  before  him,  and 
held  in  charmed  and  enraptured  attention  by 
his  performance  ;  and  to  listen  to  and  enjoy 
the  triumphant  grandeur  of  the  applause 
which  rolled  and  reverberated  in  the  great 
Roman  amphitheaters  on  such  occasions  with, 
the  sound  of  thunder.  In  a  word  it  was  the 
vanity  of  personal  display,  rather  than  ambi- 
tion for  an  honorable  distinction,  that  con- 
stituted the  motive  which  actuated  him. 

He  consequently  disregarded  the  honorary 
awards  which  the  Senate  had  decreed  him, 
and  insisted  on  actually  aj^pearing  on  the 
stage.  His  first  performance  was  the  reciting 
of  a  poem  which  he  had  composed.  The 
poem  was  received,  of  course,  with  unbounded 
applause.  Afterward  he  appeared  on  the 
stage  in  competition  with  the  harpers  and 
other  musical  performers.  The  populace  ap- 
plauded his  efforts  with  the  greatest  enthu- 
siasm, while   the   more   respectable   citizens 


276  :N'ero.  [A.D.  66. 

Humiliating  demeanor  of  the  emperor. 

•were  silent,  or  spoke  to  each  otlier  in  secret 
murmurs  of  discontent  and  disapproval. 
There  were  a  great  many  rules  and  restric- 
tions which  the  candidates  in  these  contests 
were  required  to  observe  ;  and  though  they 
were  all  proj^er  enough  for  the  class  of  men 
foi-  whom  they  were  intended,  were  yet  such 
that  the  emperor,  in  subjecting  liimself  to 
them,  placed  himself  in  a  very  low  and  de- 
graded position,  so  as  to  become  an  object  of 
ridicule  and  contempt.  For  example,  after 
coming  to  the  end  of  a  performance  on  the 
harp,  he  would  advance  to  the  front  of  the 
stage,  and  there,  after  the  manner  customary 
among  the  players  of  that  day,  would  kneel 
down  in  an  imploring  attitude,  with  his  hands 
raised,  as  if  humbly  soliciting  a  favorable  sen- 
tence from  the  audience,  as  his  judges,  and 
tremblingly  waiting  their  decision.  This, 
considering  that  the  suppliant  performer  was 
the  greatest  potentate  on  earth,  ofhcially  re- 
sponsible for  the  government  of  half  the  world, 
and  the  audience  before  whom  he  was  kneel- 
ing was  mainly  composed  of  the  lowest  rabble 
of  the  city,  seemed  to  every  respectable  Ho- 
man,  absurd  and  ridiculous  to  the  last  degree. 
Nevertheless,  the  fame   of  tliese  exploits 


A.D.  66.]       The  Expedition.  277 

Rewards  and  honors  conferred  upon  Nero. 

performed  by  Nero  as  a  public  actor,  spread 
gradually  througliout  the  empire,  and  the 
subject  attracted  special  attention  in  the  cities 
of  Greece,  where  games  and  public  spectacles 
of  every  kind  were  celebrated  with  the  great- 
est pomp  and  splendor.  Several  of  these 
cities  sent  deputations  to  Rome,  with  crowns 
and  garlands  for  the  emperor,  which  they  had 
decreed  to  him  in  honor  of  the  skill  and  su- 
periority which  Jie  had  displayed  in  the  his- 
trionic art.  Nero  was  extremely  gratified  at 
having  such  honors  conferred  upon  him.  lie 
received  the  deputations  which  brought  these 
tokens,  with  great  pomp  and  parade,  as  if  they 
had  been  embassadors  from  sovereign  princes 
or  states,  sent  to  transact  business  of  tlie  most 
momentous  concern.  He  gave  them  audience, 
in  fact,  before  all  others,  and  entertained 
them  with  feasts  and  spectacles,  and  conferred 
upon  them  every  other  mark  of  public  con- 
sideration and  honor.  On  one  occasion,  at  a 
feast  to  which  he  had  invited  such  a  company 
of  embassadors,  one  of  them  asked  him  to  fa- 
vor them  with  a  song.  The  emperor  at  once 
complied,  and  sang  a  song  for  the  entertain 
ment  of  the  company  at  the  table.  He  was 
rapturously  applauded,  and  was  so  delighted 


278  NepvO.  [A.D.  66. 

The  Olympic  games.  The  plain.  Rules. 

with  the  enthusiasm  which  his  performance 
a\vakened,  as  to  exclaim  that  the  Greeks  were, 
after  all,  the  only  people  that  really  had  a 
taste  for  music  ;  none  but  they,  he  said,  could, 
understand  or  appreciate  a  good  song. 

The  most  renowned  of  all  the  celebrations 
of  the  ancient  Greeks  were  the  Olympic 
games.  These  games  constituted  a  grand, 
national  festival,  which  was  held  once  in  four 
years  on  a  plain  in  the  western  part  of  the 
Peloponnesus,  called  the  Olympian  Plain. 
This  plain  was  but  little  more  than  a  mile  in 
extent,  and  was  bordered  on  one  side  by 
rocky  hills,  and  on  the  other  by  the  waters  of 
a  river.  Here  suitable  structures  were  erected 
for  the  exhibition  of  the  spectacles  and  games, 
and  for  the  accommodation  of  the  spectators, 
and  when  the  period  for  the  celebrations  ar- 
rived, immense  multitudes  assembled  from 
every  part  of  Greece  to  witness  the  solemni- 
ties. The  spectators,  however,  were  all  men ; 
for  with  the  exception  of  a  few  priestesses  who 
had  certain  official  duties  to  perform,  no  fe- 
males were  allowed  to  be  present.  The  inm- 
ishment  for  an  attempt  to  evade  this  law  was 
death  ;  for  if  any  woman  attempted  to  witness 
the  scene  in  disguise,  the  law  was  that  she 


A.D.  06.]         The  Expedition.  279 

Prelimiiuiry  arrangsmenis  of  the  Olympic  games. 

was  to  be  seized,  if  detected,  and  hurled  down 
a  neighboring  precipice,  to  be  killed  by  the, 
fall.  It  is  said,  however,  that  only  one  case 
of  such  detection  ever  occurred,  and  in  that 
case  the  woman  was  pardoned  in  considera- 
tion of  the  fact  that  her  father,  her  brothers, 
and  her  son  had  all  been  victors  in  the  games. 
The  games  continued  for  five  days.  The 
general  arrangements  were  made,  and  the 
umpires  were  ajppointed,  by  the  government 
of  Elis,  which  was  the  state  in  which  the 
Olympian  plain  was  situated.  There  was  a 
gymnasium  in  the  vicinity,  where  those  who 
intended  to  enter  the  lists  as  competitors  were 
accustomed  to  put  themselves  in  training. 
This  training  occupied  nearly  a  year,  and  for 
thirty  days  previous  to  the  public  exhibition 
the  exercises  were  conducted  at  this  gymna- 
sium in  the  same  manner  and  form  as  at  the 
games  themselves.  There  was  a  large  and 
regularly  organized  police  provided  to  pre- 
serve order,  and  umpires  appointed  with  great 
formality,  to  decide  the  contests  and  make 
the  awards.  These  umisires  M^ere  inducted 
into  office  by  the  most  solemn  oaths.  They 
bound  themselves  by  these  oaths  to  give  just 
and  true  decisions  without  fear  or  favor. 


280  Neko.  [A.D.  G6. 

various  contests  and  spectacles-at  the  Olympic  games. 

The  festival  was  opened,  when  the  time 
.arrived,  in  the  evening,  by  the  offering  of  sac- 
rifices,— the  services  being  conducted  in  the 
most  imposing  and  solemn  manner.  On  the 
following  morning  at  daybreak  the  games 
and  contests  began.  These  consisted  of  races 
— in  chariots,  on  horseback,  and  on  foot, — the 
runners  being  in  the  latter  case  sometimes 
dressed  lightly,  and  sometimes  loaded  with 
heavy  armor; — of  matches  in  leaping,  wrest- 
ling, boxing,  and  throwing  the  discus  ; — and 
finally,  of  musical  and  poetical  performances 
of  various  kinds.  To  obtain  the  prize  in  any 
of  these  contests  was  considered  throughout 
the  whole  Grecian  world  as  an  honor  of  the 
hio-hest  degree. 

The  period  for  the  celebration  of  these 
games  began  to  draw  nigh,  as  it  happened, 
not  long  after  the  time  when  the  deputations 
from  Greece  came  to  Nero  with  the  compli- 
ments and  crowns  decreed  to  him  in  token  of 
their  admiration  of  his  public  performances  at 
Home, — and  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  his 
attention  and  interest  were  strongly  awakened 
by  the  approach  of  so  renowned  a  festival. 
In  short  he  resolved  to  go  to  Greece,  and  dis- 
play his  powers  before  the  immense  and  dis- 


A.D.  66.]         The  Expedition.  281 

Nero  sots  out  for  Greece.  His  retinue. 

tinguished  audiences  that  were  to  assemble  on 
the  Olympic  plains. 

He  accordingly  organized  a  very  large  reti- 
nue of  attendants  and  followers,  and  prepared 
to  set  out  on  his  journey.  This  retinue  was 
in  numbers  quite  an  army;  but  in  character 
it  was  a  mere  troop  of  actors,  musicians  and 
buffoons.  It  was  made  up  almost  wholly  of* 
people  connected  in  various  ways  with  the 
stage,  so  that  the  baggage  which  followed  in 
its  train,  instead  of  being  formed  of  arms  and 
munitions  of  war,  as  was  usual  when  a  great 
Eoman  commander  had  occasion  to  pass  out 
of  Italy,  consisted  of  harps,  fiddles,  masks, 
buskins,  and  such  other  stage  property  as  was 
in  use  in  those  times, — while  the  company 
itself  was  formed  almost  entirely  of  come- 
dians, singers,  dancers,  and  wrestlers,  with  an 
immense  retinue  of  gay  and  dissij^ated  men 
and  women,  who  exemplified  every  possible 
stage  of  moral  debasement  and  degradation. 
With  this  company  Nero  crossed  to  the  east- 
ern shore  of  Italy,  and  there,  embarking  on 
board  the  vessels  which  had  been  prepared 
for  the  voyage,  he  sailed  over  the  Adriatic 
sea  to  the  shores  of  Greece. 

He  landed  at  Cassiope,  a  town  in  the  north- 


2fi2  N'keo.  [A.D.  66. 

Nero's  progress  through  Greece.  Crowds  of  auditors. 

ern  part  of  the  island  of  Corcyra.  Here  there 
was  a  temple  to  Jupiter,  and  the  first  of  Nero's 
exploits  was  to  go  there  and  sing,  being  im- 
patient, it  would  seem,  to  give  the  people  of 
Greece  a  specimen  of  his  powers  immediately 
on  landing.  After  this  he  passed  over  to  the 
continent,  and  thence  advanced  into  the  heart 
of  Greece,  playing,  singing,  and  acting  in  all 
the  cities  through  which  he  passed.  As  there 
were  yet  some  months  to  elapse  before  the  pe- 
riod for  celebrating  the  Olympic  games,  Nero 
had  ample  time  for  making  this  tour.  He  was 
of  course  everywhere  received  with  the  most 
unbounded  applause,  for  of  course  those  only, 
in  general,  who  were  most  pleased  with  such 
amusements,  and-  were  most  inclined  to  ap- 
prove of  Nero's  exhibiting  himself  as  a  per- 
former, came  together  in  the  assemblies  which 
convened  to  hear  him.  Thus  it  happened  that 
the  virtuous,  the  cultivated,  and  the  refined, 
remained  at  their  homes ;  while  all  the  idle, 
reckless,  and  dissolute  spirits  of  the  land 
flocked  in  crowds  to  the  entertainments  which 
their  imperial  visitor  offered  them.  These 
men,  of  course,  considered  it  quite  a  triumph 
for  them  that  so  distinguished  a  potentate 
should  take  an  active  part  in  ministering  to 


A.D.  6Q.]      The  Extedition.  283 

Nero  is  received  willi  great  applause. 

their  pleasures ;  and  thus  wherever  Nero  went 
he  was  sure  to  be  attended  by  crowds,  and 
his  performances,  whether  skillful  or  not,  could 
not  fail  of  being  extravagantly  extolled  in 
conversntion,  and  of  eliciting  in  the  theaters 
thunders  of  applause.  The  consequence  was 
that  Nero  was  delighted  with  the  enthusiasm 
which  his  performances  seemed  everywhere 
to  awaken.  To  be  thus  received  and  thus 
applauded  in  the  cities  of  Greece,  seemed  to 
satisfy  his  highest  ambition. 

It  has  always  been  considered  a  very  extra- 
ordinary proof  of  mental  and  moral  degrada- 
tion on  the  part  of  Nero,  that  he  could  thus 
descend  from  the  exalted  sphere  of  responsi- 
bility and  duty  to  which  his  high  official  sta- 
tion properly  consigned  him,  in  order  to  min- 
gle in  such  scenes  and  engage  in  such  contests 
as  were  exhibited  in  the  ordinary  theaters  and 
circuses  in  Greece.  It  is  however  not  so  sur- 
prising that  he  should  have  been  willing  to 
appear  as  a  competitor  at  the  Olympic  games  : 
so  prominent  were  these  games  above  all  the 
other  athletic  and  military  celebrations  of  that 
age,  and  so  great  v/as  the  value  attached  to  the 
honor  of  a  victory  obtained  in  them.  There 
was,  it  is  true,  no  value,  in  the  prize  itself, 


284  Nero.  [A.D.  66. 

The  crown  of  olive  leaves.  Ceremonies. 

that  was  bestoM^ed  upon  the  victors.  There 
was  110  silver  cup,  or  golden  ci'own,  or  sum  of 
money  staked  upon  the  issue.  The  only  di- 
rect award  was  a  crown  of  olive  leaves,  which, 
at  the  close  of  the  contest,  was  placed  upon 
the  head  of  the  victor.  Everything  pertain- 
ing to  this  crown  was  connected  with  the 
most  imposing  and  peculiar  ceremonies.  The 
leaves  from  which  the  garland  was  made  were 
obtained  from  a  certain  sacred  olive-tree, 
which  grew  in  a  consecrated  grove  in  Olym- 
pia.  The  tree  itself  had  been  originally 
brought,  it  was  said,  from  the  country  of  the 
Hyperboreans,  by  Hercules,  and  planted  in 
Olympia,  where  it  was  sacredly  preserved  to 
furnish  garlands  for  the  victors  in  the  games. 
The  leaves  were  cut  from  the  tree  by  a  boy 
chosen  for  the  purpose.  He  gathered  the 
leaves  by  means  of  a  golden  sickle,  which  was 
set  apart  expressly  to  this  use.  When  the 
time  arrived  for  the  crowning  of  the  victor, 
the  candidate  was  brought  forward  in  presence 
of  a  vast  concourse  of  spectators,  and  placed 
upon  a  tripod,  which  was  originally  formed 
of  bronze,  but  in  subsequent  ages  was  wrought 
in  ivory  and  gold.  Branches  of  palm-trees, 
the  usual  symbols  of  victory,  were  placed  in 


A.D.  GG.]        The  Expedition.  2S5 

Sacrifices  and  festivities.  Nero  at  Olympia. 

his  hands.  His  name  and  that  of  his  father 
and  of  the  country  whence  he  came,  were 
proclaimed  with  great  ceremony  by  the  her- 
alds. The  crown  was  then  placed  upon  his 
head,  and  the  festival  ended  with  proces- 
sions and  sacrifices  and  a  public  banquet, 
given  in  honor  of  the  occasion.  On  his  re- 
turn to  his  own  country,  the  victor  entered 
the  capital  by  a  triumplial  procession,  and 
was  usually  rewarded  there  by  immunities  and 
privileges  of  the  most  important  character. 

At  length  the  time  arrived  for  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Olympic  games,  and  Nero  repaired 
to  the  spot,  following  the  vast  throngs  that 
were  proceeding  thither  from  every  part  of 
Greece,  and  there  entered  into  competition 
with  all  the  common  singers  and  players  of 
the  time.  The  prize  for  excellence  in  music 
was  awarded  to  him.  It  w^as,  however,  gen- 
erally understood  that  the  judges  w^ere  bribed 
to  decide  in  his  favor.  JSTero  entered  as  a 
competitor,  too,  in  the  chariot  race  ;  and  here 
he  was  successful  in  winning  the  prize ; 
though  in  this  case  it  was  decreed  to  him  in 
plain  and  open  violation  of  all  rule.  He  un- 
dertook to  drive  ten  horses  in  this  race ;  but 
he  found  the  team  too  much  for  him  to  con- 


286  Nero.  [A.D.  Go. 

The  chariot  race.  Nero  receives  the  prizes. 

trol.  The  horses  became  unmanageable  ;  IS^evo 
was  thrown  out  of  his  carriage  and  was  so 
much  hurt  that  he  could  not  finish  the  race  at 
all.  He,  however,  insisted  that  accidents  and 
casualties  were  not  to  be  taken  into  the  ac- 
count, and  that  inasmuch  as  he  should  cer- 
tainly have  outran  his  competitors  if  he  had 
not  been  prevented  bj  misfortune,  he  claimed 
that  the  judges  should  award  him  the  prize. 
Greatly  to  his  delight  the  judges  did  so.  It 
is  true  they  were  bound  by  the  most  solemn 
oaths  to  make  just  and  true  decisions ;  but  it 
has  been  seldom  found  in  the  history  of  the 
world  that  official  oaths  constitute  any  serious 
barrier  against  the  demands  or  encroachments 
of  emperors  or  kings. 

When  the  games  were  ended  IN^ero  con- 
ferred very  rich  rewards  upon  all  the  judges. 

These  successes  at  the  Olympic  games, 
nominal  and  empty  as  they  really  were,  seem- 
ed to  have  inflamed  the  emperor's  vanity  and 
ambition  more  than  ever.  Instead  of  return- 
ing to  Rome  he  commenced  another  tour 
through  the  heart  of  Greece,  singing  and 
playing  in  all  the  cities  where  he  went,  and 
challenging  all  the  most  distinguished  actors 


A.D.  66.]       The  Expedition.  287 


Nero  sends  despatches  to  Rome. 


and  performers  to  meet  him  and  contend  with 
him  for  prizes. 

Of  course  the  prizes  were  always  awarded 
to  Nero  on  this  torn*,  as  they  had  been  at  the 
Olympic  games.  Nero  sent  home  regular 
dispatches  after  each  of  his  performances,  to 
inform  the  Roman  Senate  of  his  victories,  just 
as  former  emperors  had  been  accustomed  to 
send  military  bulletins  to  announce  the  prog- 
ress of  their  armies,  and  the  conquests  which 
they  had  gained  in  battle  ;  and  with  a  degree 
of  vanity  and  folly  which  seems  almost  incred- 
ible, he  called  upon  the  Senate  to  institute 
religious  celebrations  and  sacrifices  in  Rome, 
and  great  public  processions,  in  order  to  sig- 
nalize and  commemorate  these  great  successes, 
and  to  exj)ress  the  gratitude  of  the  people  to 
the  gods  for  having  vouchsafed  them.  Not 
satisfied  with  expecting  this  parade  of  public 
rejoicing  in  Rome,  he  called  upon  the  Senate 
to  ordain  that  similar  services  should  be  held 
in  all  the  cities  and  towns  throughout  the 
emjjire. 

During  the  visit  of  Nero  to  Greece,  he  en- 
gaged in  one  undertaking  which  might  be 
denominated  a  useful  enterprise,  though  lie 
managed  it  with  such  characteristic  imbecil- 


288  :N"ero.  [A.D.  ()6. 

His  plan  for  cutting  through  the  Isthmns  of  Corinth. 

ity  and  folly,  tliat  it  ended,  as  might  have 
been  foreseen,  in  a  miserable  failure.  Tiie 
plan  which  he  conceived,  was  to  cut  through 
the  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  so  as  to  open  a  ship 
communication  between  the  Ionian  and  tlie 
-^gean  seas.  Such  a  canal,  he  thought, 
would  save  for  many  vessels  the  long  and 
dangerous  voyage  around  the  Peloponnesus, 
and  thus  prevent  many  of  the  wrecks  which 
then  annually  took  place  on  the  shores  of  the 
Peninsula,  and  which  were  often  attended 
with  the  destruction  of  much  property  and  of 
many  lives. 

The  plan  might  thus  have  been  a  very  good 
one,  had  any  proper  and  efficient  means  been 
adopted  for  carrying  it  into  execution ;  but 
in  all  that  he  did  in  this  respect,  Nero  seems 
to  have  looked  no  farther  than  to  the  perform- 
ance of  pompous  and  empty  ceremonies  in 
commencing  the  work.  He  convened  a  great 
public  assembly  on  the  ground.  He  enter- 
tained this  assembly  with  spectacles  and 
shows.  He  then  placed  himself  at  the  head 
of  his  life-guards,  and,  after  a  speech  of  great 
promise  and  pretension,  he  advanced  at  the 
head  of  a  procession,  singing  and  dancing  by 
the  way,  to  the  place  where  the  first  ground 


A.D.  66.]       The  Expedition.  289 

Breaking  ground.  The  golden  pick-axe. 

was  to  be  broken.  Here  lie  made  three 
strokes  with  a  golden  pick-axe,  which  had 
1>een  provided  for  the  occasion,  and  putting 
flie  earth  which  he  had  loosened  into  a 
basket-  he  carried  it  away  to  a  short  distance, 
and  threw  it  out  upon  the  ground.  This 
ceremony  was  meant  for  the  commencement 
of  the  canal ;  and  when  it  was  over,  the 
company  dispersed,  and  Nero  was  escorted 
hy  his  guards  back  to  the  city  of  Corinth, 
which  lay  at  a  few  miles'  distance  fi-om  the 
scene. 

Nothing  more  was  ever  done.  Nero  issued 
orders,  it  is  true,  that  all  the  criminals,  con- 
victs, and  prisoners  in  Greece,  should  be 
transported  to  the  Isthmus,  and  set  to  work 
upon  this  canal;  and  some  Jewish  captives 
were  actually  employed  there  for  a  time  ; 
but,  for  some  reason  or  other,  nothing  was 
done.  The  actual  work  was  never  seriously 
undertaken. 

In  the  mean  time,  Nero  had  left  the  gov- 
ernment at  Rome  in  the  hands  of  a  certain 
ignoble  favorite,  named  Helius,  who,  being 
[)laced  in  command  of  the  army  during  his 
master's  absence,  held  the  lives -and  fortunes 
of  all  the  inhabitants  at  his  supreme  disposal, 
T 


290  Nero.  [A.D.  66. 

Helius  calls  upon  Nero  to  return  to  Rome. 

and,  as  miglit  have  been  expected,  he  pur- 
sued such  a  career  of  cruelty  and  oppression, 
in  liis  attempts  to  overawe  and  subject  those 
who  were  under  his  power,  that  a  universal 
feeling  of  hostility  and  hatred  was  awakened 
against  him.  Things  at  last  assumed  so 
alarming  an  attitude,  that  Helius  was  terri- 
fied in  his  turn,  and  at  length  he  began  to 
send  for  N'ero  to  come  home.  Nero  at  first 
'paid  no  attention  to  these  requests.  The 
danger,  however,  increased ;  the  crisis  be- 
came extremely  imminent,  so  that  a  general 
insurrection  was  anticipated.  Helius  sent 
messengers  after  messengers  to  Nero,  implor- 
ing him  to  return,  if  he  wished  to  save  him- 
self from  ruin  ; — but  all  the  answer  that  he 
could  obtain  from  Nero  was,  that,  if  Helius 
truly  loved  him,  he  would  not  envy  him  the 
glory  that  he  was  acquiring  in  Greece  ;  but, 
instead  of  hastening  his  return,  would  rather 
wish  that  he  should  come  back  worthy  of 
himself,  after  having  fully  accomplished  his 
victories.  At  last  Helius,  growing  desperate 
in  view  of  the  impending  danger,  left  Rome, 
and,  traveling  with  all  possible  dispatch, 
night  and  day,  came  to  Nero  in  Greece,  and 
there  made  such  statements  and  disclosm-es 


A.D.  66.]       The  Expedition.  291 

Nero  returns.  His  train.  His  prizes. 

in  respect  to  the  condition  of  things  at  Rome, 
that  Nero  at  length  reluctantly  concluded  to 
return. 

He  accordingly  set  out  in  grand  state  on 
his  journey  westward,  escorted  by  his  body- 
guard, and  with  his  motley  and  innumerable 
horde  of  singers,  dancers,  poets,  actors,  and 
mountebanks  in  his  train.  He  brought  with 
him  the  prizes  which  he  had  won  in  the  vari- 
ous cities  of  Greece.  The  number  of  these 
prizes,  it  was  said,  was  more  than  eighteen 
hundred.  On  his  way  through  Greece,  when 
about  to  return  to  Rome,  he  went  to  Delphi, 
to  consult  the  sacred  oracle  there,  in  respect 
to  his  future  fortunes.  The  reply  of  the 
Pythoness  was,  ''''Beware  of  seventy-tliTee?'' 
This  answer  gave  Nero  great  satisfaction  and 
pleasure.  It  meant,  he  had  no  doubt,  that 
he  had  no  danger  to  fear  until  he  should  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  seventy-three ;  and  as 
he  was  yet  not  quite  thirty,  the  response  of 
the  oracle  seemed  to  put  so  far  away  the  evil 
day,  that  he  thought  he  might  dismiss  it  from 
his  mind  altogether.  So  he  repaid  the  oracle 
for  the  flattering  ]Di'ediction  with  most  mag- 
nificent presents,  and  pursued  his  journey  to 
ward  Rome  with  a  mind  quite  at  ease. 


292  Nbho.  [A.D.  66. 

His  vojage.  Danger  of  shipwreck.  Journey  to  Korae. 

The  shij)s  in  which  he  embarked  to  cross 
the  Adnatic  on  his  return  to  Italy  encountered 
a  terrible  storm,  by  which  they  were  dis- 
persed, and  many  of  them  were  destroyed. 
Nero  himself  had  a  very  narrow  escape,  as 
the  ship  w^hich  he  was  in  came  very  near  be- 
ing lost.  To  see  him  in  this  danger  seems 
greatly  to  have  pleased  some  of  his  attend- 
ants, for  so  imperious  and  cniel  was  his  tem- 
per, that  he  was  generally  hated  by  all  who 
came  under  his  power.  These  men  hated  him 
so  intensely  that  they  were  willing,  as  it 
would  appear,  to  perish  themselves,  for  the 
pleasure  of  witnessing  his  destruction  ;  and  in 
the  extreme  moments  of  danger  they  openly 
manifested  this  feeling.  The  vessel,  however, 
was  saved,  and  Nero,  as  soon  as  he  landed,  or- 
dered these  persons  all  to  be  slain. 

On  landing  he  gathered  together  the  scat- 
tered remnants  of  his  company,  and  organiz- 
ing a  new  escort,  he  advanced  toward  Rome, 
in  a  grand  triumphal  march,  displaying  his 
prizes  and  crowns  in  all  tlie  great  cities 
through  which  he  passed,  and  claiming  uni- 
versal homage.  "When  he  arrived  at  the 
gates  of  Rome,  he  made  preparations  for  a 
grand  triumphal  entry  to  the  city,  in  the  man- 


A.D.  66.]       The  Expedition.  203 


His  triumphal  entry  into  Rome. 


ner  of  great  military  conquerors.  A  breach 
was  made  in  the  walls  for  the  admission  of 
the  procession,  Nero  rode  in  the  triumphal 
chariot  of  Augustus,  with  a  distinguished 
Greek  harpist  by  his  side,  who  wore  an  Olym- 
pic crown  upon  his  head,  and  carried  another 
crown  in  his  hand.  Before  this  chariot 
marched  a  company  of  eighteen  hundred 
men,  each  of  them  carrying  one  of  the  crowns 
which  Nero  had  won,  with  an  inscription  for 
the  spectators  to  read,  signifying  where  the 
crown  had  been  won,  the  name  of  the  empe- 
ror's competitor,  the  title  of  the  song  which 
he  had  sung,  and  other  similar  particulars. 
In  this  way  he  traversed  the  princij)al  streets, 
exhibiting  himself  and  his  trophies  to  the 
populace,  and  finally  when  he  arrived  at  his 
house,  he  entered  it  with  great  pomp  and 
parade,  and  caused  the  crowns  to  be  hung  up 
upon  the  innumerable  statues  of  himself 
which  had  been  erected  in  the  courts  and 
halls  of  the  building.  Those  which  he  valued 
most  highly  he  placed  conspicuously  around 
his  bed  in  his  bedchamber,  in  order  that  they 
might  be  the  last  objects  for  his  eyes  to  rest 
upon  at  night,  and  the  first  to  greet  his  view 
in  the  morning. 


29 i  Neko.  [A.D.  66. 

His  proceedings.  He  conlinucs  the  training  of  his  voice. 

As  soon  as  he  became  established  in  Rome 
again,  he  began  to  form  new  plans  for  devel- 
oping his  powers  and  capacities  as'  a  musi- 
cian, in  the  hope  of  gaining  still  higher  tri- 
umphs than  those  to  which  he  had  already- 
attained.  Far  from  giving  his  time  and  at- 
tention to  the  public  business  of  the  empire, 
he  devoted  himself  with  new  zeal  and  enthu- 
siasm to  the  cultivation  of  his  art.  In  doing 
this  it  was  necessary,  according  to  the  cus- 
toms and  usages  in  respect  to  the  training  of 
musicians  that  prevailed  in  those  days,  that 
he  should  submit  to  rules  and  exercises  most 
absurd  and  degrading  to  one  holding  such  a 
station  as  his  ;  and  as  accounts  of  his  mode 
of  life  circulated  among  the  community,  he 
became  an  object  of  general  ridicule  and  con- 
tempt. In  order  to  strengthen  his  lungs  and 
improve  his  voice  he  used  to  lie  on  his  back 
with  a  plate  of  lead  upon  his  chest,  that  the 
lungs,  working  under  such  a  burden,  might 
acquire  strength  by  the  effort.  He  took  pow- 
erful medicines,  such  as  were  supposed  in 
those  days  to  act  upon  the  system  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  produce  clearness  and  reso- 
nance in  the  tones  of  the  voice.  He  subjected 
himself  to  the  most  rigid  rules  of  diet, — and 


A.D.  66.]       The  Expedition.  295 

Tho  Phonascus.  Public  performances. 

gave  up  the  practice  of  addressing  the  senate 
and  the  army,  which  the  Koman  emperors 
often  had  occasion  to  do,  for  fear  that  speak- 
ing so  loud  might  strain  his  voice  and  injure 
the  sweetness  of  its  tones.  He  had  a  special 
officer  in  his  household,  called  his  Phonascus^ 
meaning  his  voice-keeper.  This  officer  was 
to  watch  him  at  all  times,  caution  him  against 
speaking  too  loud  or  too  fast, — prescribe  for 
him,  and  in  every  way  take  care  that  his 
voice  received  no  detriment.  During  all 
this  time  Nero  was  continually  performing  in 
public,  and  though  his  performances  were 
protracted  and  tedious  to  the  last  degree,  all 
the  Roman  nobility  were  compelled  always  to 
attend  them,  under  pain  of  his  horrible  dis- 
pleasure. 

As  Nero  went  on  thus  in  the  career  which 
he  had  chosen, — neglecting  altogether  the 
affiiirs  of  government,  and  giving  himself  up 
more  and  more  every  year  to  the  most  ex- 
pensive dissipation ;  his  finances  became  at 
length  greatly  involved,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  resort  to  every  possible  form  of 
extortion,  in  order  to  raise  the  money  that  he 
required.  His  pecuniary  embarrassments  be- 
came, at  length,  very  perplexing,  and  they 


296  Nero.  [A.D.  G6. 

Pecuniary  embarassments.  Bessus's  story. 

were  finally  very  much  increased  by  the  ex- 
traordinary folly  which  he  displayed  in  giv- 
ing credence  to  the  dreams  and  promises  of 
a  certain  adventurer  who  came  to  him  from 
Africa.  The  name  of  this  man  was  Bessns. 
He  was  a  native  of  Carthage.  He  came,  ut 
one  time,  to  Rome,  and  having  contrived,  by 
means  of  presents  and  bribes  which  he  of- 
fered to  the  ofiicers  ^f  Nero's  household,  to 
obtain  an  audience  of  the  emperor,  he  in- 
formed him  that  he  had  intelligence  of  the 
highest  importance  to  communicate,  which 
was,  that  on  his  estate  in  Africa,  there  was  a 
large  cavern,  in  which  was  stored  an  immense 
treasure.  This  treasure  consisted,  he  said, 
of  vast  heaps  of  golden  ingots,  rude  and 
shapeless  in  form,  but  composed  of  pure  and 
precious  metal.  The  cavern,  he  said,  which 
contained  these  stores,  was  very  spacious,  and 
the  gold  lay  piled  in  it  in  heaps,  and  some- 
times in  solid  columns,  towering  to  a  pro- 
digious height.  These  treasures  had  been 
deposited  there,  he  said,  by  Dido,  the  ancient 
Carthaginian  queen,  and  they  had  remained 
there  so  long,  that  all  knowledge  of  them  had 
been  lost.  They  had  been  reserved,  in  a 
word,  for  ISTero,  and  were  all  now  at  his  dis- 


A.D.  G6.]       The  ExTEDiTiON.  297 

Nero  sends  to  Egypt  for  the  treasure. 

posal,  ready  to  be  brought  out  and  employed 
in  promoting  the  glory  and  magnificence  of 
his  reign. 

Nero  readily  gave  credit  to  this  story,  and 
inasmuch  as  in  the  exuberance  of  his  exulta- 
tion he  made  known  this  wonderful  discovery 
to  those  around  him,  the  tidings  of  it  soon 
spread  throughout  the  city,  and  produced  the 
most  intense  excitement  among  all  classes. 
Nero  immediately  began  to  fit  out  an  expedi- 
tion to  proceed  to  Africa,  and  bring  the  treas- 
ure home.  Galleys  were  equipped  to  convey 
it,  and  a  body  of  troops  was  designated  to  es- 
cort it,  and  suitable  officers  appointed  to  pro- 
ceed with  Bessus  to  Carthage,  and  superintend 
the  transportation  of  the  metal.  These  prep- 
arations necessarily  required  some  time,  and 
during  the  interval  Bessus  was  of  course  the 
object  at  Rome  of  universal  attention  and  re- 
gard. Nero  himself,  finding  that  he  was 
about  to  enter  upon  the  possession  of  such  in- 
exhaustible treasures,  dismissed  all  concern  in 
respect  to  his  finances,  and  launched  out  into 
wilder  extravagance  than  ever.  He  raised 
money  for  the  present  moment,  by  assigning 
shares  in  the  treasure  at  exorbitant  rates  of 


298  Neko.  [A.D.  66. 

Hia  disuppointmcut.  The  dream. 

discount,  and  thus  borrowed  and  expended 
with  the  most  unbounded  profusion. 

At  length  the  expedition  sailed  for  Car- 
thage, taking  Bessus  with  them, — but  all 
search  for  the  cavern,  when  they  arrived,  was 
unavailing.  It  proved  that  all  the  evidence 
which  Bessus  had  of  the  existence  of  the  cave, 
and  of  the  heaps  of  gold  contained  in  it,  was 
derived  from  certain  remarkable  dreams  which 
he  had  had, — and  though  Nero's  commission- 
ers dug  into  the  ground  most  faithfully  in 
every  place  on  the  estate  which  the  dreams 
had  indicated,  no  treasure,  and  not  even  the 
cavern,  could  ever  be  found. 


A.D.  66.]  Nero's  End.  299 

Galba.  His  history.  His  province. 


Chapter    XIIL 
Nero's   End. 

THE  successor  of  Nero  in  the  line  of  Ro- 
man emperors,  was  Galba.  Galba,  tliongh 
a  son  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  Roman 
families,  was  born  in  Spain,  and  he  was  about 
forty  years  older  than  Nero,  being  now  over 
seventy,  while  Nero  was  yet  but  thirty  years 
of  age. 

During  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  Galba 
had  been  a  very  distinguished  commander, 
and  had  risen  from  one  post  of  influence  and 
honor  to  another,  until  he  became  one  of  the 
most  considerable  personages  in  the  state. 
Nero  at  length  appointed  him  to  the  command 
of  a  very  large  and  important  province  in 
Spain.  At  this  station  Galba  remained  some 
years,  and  he  was  here,  attending  regularly  to 
the  duties  of  his  government,  at  the  time 
when  Nero  returned  from  his  expedition  into 
Greece.  Galba  himself,  and  all  the  other 
governors  around  him,  felt  the  same  indigna- 
tion at  Nero's  cruelties  and  crimes,  and  the 


300  Nero.  [A.D.  66. 

Revolt  of  Viiidex.  Embassadors  sent  to  Galba. 

same  contempt  for  his  low  and  degrading 
vanity  and  folly,  that  prevailed  so  generally 
at  Rome.  In  fact,  feelings  of  exasperation 
and  hatred  against  the  tyrant,  began  to  ex- 
tend universally  throughout  the  empire.  The 
people  in  every  quarter,  in  fact,  seemed  ripe 
for  insurrection. 

"While  things  were  in  this  state,  a  messen- 
ger arrived  one  day  at  Galba's  court,  from  a 
certain  chieftain  of  the  Gauls,  named  Julius 
Yindex.  This  messenger  came  to  announce 
to  Galba  that  Yindex  had  revolted  against  the 
Roman  government  in  Gaul.  He  declared, 
however,  that  it  was  only  Nerd's  power  that 
Yindex  intended  to  resist,  and  promised  that 
if  Galba  would  himself  assume  the  supreme 
command,  Yindex  would  acknowledge  alle- 
giance to  him,  and  would  do  all  in  his  power 
to  promote  his  cause.  He  said,  moreover, 
that  such  was  the  detestation  in  which  Nero 
was  universally  held,  that  there  was  no  doubt 
that  the  whole  empire  woidd  sustain  Galba  in 
effecting  such  a  revolution,  if  he  would  once 
raise  his  standard.  At  the  same  time  that 
this  messenger  came  from  Yindex,  another 
came  from  the  Roman  govesrnor  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Gaul,  where  Yindex  resided,  to  infonn 


A.J).  GG.]  Neeo's  End.  301 

Debates  in  the  council.  Galba  joins  Vindex. 

Galba  of  the  revolt,  and  asking  for  a  detach- 
ment of  troops  to  assist  him  in  putting  it 
down.  Galba  called  a  council,  and  laid  the 
subject  before  them. 

After  some  debate  one  of  the  councillors 
rose  and  said  that  there  was  no  more  danger 
in  openly  joining  Yindex  in  his  rebellion, 
than  there  was  in  debating,  in  such  a  council, 
w4iat  they  should  do.  "It  is  just  as  treason- 
able," said  he,  "to  doubt  and  hesitate  wheth- 
er to  send  troops  to  put  down  the  revolt,  as 
it  would  be  openly  to  rebel ;  and  N'ero  will  so 
regard  it.  My  counsel  therefore  is  that,  un- 
less you  choose  to  be  considered  as  aiding  the 
revolution,  you  should  instantly  send  off  troops 
to  put  it  down," 

Galba  was  much  impressed  with  the  wis- 
dom of  this  advice.  He  felt  strongly  inclined 
to  favor  the  cause  of  Yindex  and  the  rebels, 
and  on  further  reflection  he  secretly  deter- 
mined to  join  them,  and  to  take  measures  for 
raising  a  general  insurrection.  He  did  not, 
however,  make  known  his  determination  to 
any  one,  but  dismissed  the  council  without 
declaring  what  he  had  concluded  to  do.  Soon 
afterward  he  sent  out  to  all  parts  of  the  prov- 
ince, and  ordered  a  general  mustering  of  the 


303  :N'eeo.  [A.D.  67. 

News  of  the  rebellion  meets  Nero  at  Naples. 

forces  under  his  command,  and  of  all  that 
could  be  raised  throughout  the  province,  re- 
quh-ing  them  to  meet  at  a  certain  appointed 
rendezvous.  The  army,  though  not  openly 
informed  of  it,  suspected  what  the  object  of 
this  movement  was  to  be,  and  came  forward 
to  the  work,  with  the  utmost  alacrity  and  joy. 

In  the  mean  time  the  tidings  of  Yindex's 
revolt  traveled  rapidly  to  Rome,  and  thence 
to  Naples,  where  Nero  was  at  this  time  per- 
forming on  the  public  stage.  Nero  seemed  to 
be  very  much  delighted  to  hear  the  news. 
lie  supposed  that  the  rebellion  would  of 
course  be  very  easily  suppressed,  and  that 
when  it  was  suppressed  he  could  make  it  an 
excuse  for  subjecting  the  province  in  which  it 
had  occurred  to  fines  and  confiscations  that 
would  greatly  enrich  his  treasury.  He  was 
extremely  pleased  therefore  at  the  tidings  of 
the  revolt,  and  abandoned  himself  to  the  the- 
atrical pursuits  and  pleasures  in  which  he  was 
engaged,  more  absolutely  and  recklessly  than 
ever. 

In  the  mean  time  fresh  messengers  arrived 
at  short  intervals  from  Rome,  to  inform  Nero 
of  the  progress  of  the  rebellion.  The  news 
was  that  Vindex  was  gaining  strength  evezy 


A.D.  67.]  Nero's  End.  303 


The  proclamation  of  Vindex. 


daj,  an4  was  issuing  proclamations  to  the 
people  calling  upon  them  everywhere  to  rise 
and  throw  off  the  ignoble  yoke  of  oppression 
which  they  were  enduring.  In  these  procla- 
mations the  emperor  was  called  Brazenbeard, 
and  designated  as  a  "wretched  fiddler." 
These  taunts  excited  Nero's  ire.  He  wrote  to 
the  Senate  at  Rome  calling  upon  them  to 
adopt  some  measures  for  putting  down  this 
insolent  rebel,  and  having  dispatched  this 
letter,  he  seemed  to  dismiss  the  subject  from 
his  mind,  and  turned  his  attention  anew  to 
his  dancing  and  acting. 

His  mind  was,  however,  soon  disturbed 
again,  for  fresh  messengers  continued  to  come, 
each  bringing  reports  more  alarming  than 
those  of  his  predecessor.  The  rebellion  was 
evidently  gaining  ground.  Nero  was  con- 
vinced that  something  must  be  done.  He  ac- 
cordingly broke  away,  though  with  great  re- 
luctance, from  his  amusements  at  Naples,  and 
proceeded  to  Rome.  On  his  arrival  at  the 
capital  he  called  a  council  of  some  of  his  prin- 
cipal ministers  of  state,  and  after  a  short  con- 
sultation on  the  subject  of  the  rebellion — ^in 
which,  however,  nothing  was  determined 
upon — he  proceeded  to  produce  some  newly- 


304  Neeo.  [a.d.  cr. 

Nero  plans  new  performances.  The  new  instruments. 

invented  musical  instruments  whic^  he  had 
brought  w4th  him  from  Naples,  and  in  which 
he  was  greatly  interested.  After  showing 
and  explaining  these  instruments  to  the  coun- 
cilors, he  promised  them  that  he  would  give 
them  the  pleasure  before  long  of  hearing  a 
performance  upon  them,  on  the  stage, — 
"provided,"  he  added  jocosely,  "that  this 
Yindex  will  give  me  leave." 

The  councilors  at  length  withdrew,  and 
Nero  remained  in  his  apartment.  On  retii-ing 
to  rest,  however,  he  found  that  he  could  not 
sleep.  His  thoughts  were  running  on  the 
musical  instruments  which  he  had  been  show- 
ing, and  on  the  pleasure  which  he  anticipated 
in  a  public  performance  with  them.  At 
length,  at  a  very  late  hour,  he  sent  for  his 
councilors  to  come  again  to  his  apartment. 
They  came,  full  of  excitement  and  wonder, 
supposing  that  they  were  thus  suddenly  sum- 
moned on  account  of  some  new  and  very 
momentous  tidings  which  had  been  received 
from  Gaul.  They  found,  however,  that  Nero 
only  wished  to  give  some  farther  account  of 
the  instruments  which  he  had  shown  them, 
and  to  ask  their  o^^inions  of  certain  improve- 


A.D.  67.]  Neeo's  End.  305 

Galba  joins  the  insurrection.  Nero  appalled. 

ments  which  had  occurred  to  him  since  they 
went  awaj. 

l^ero  did  not,  however,  remain  very  long  in 
this  state  of  insane  and  stuj)id  unconcern  ; 
for  on  the  evening  of  the  following  day  a 
courier  arrived  from  the  north  with  the  appal- 
ling intelligence  that  Yindex  had  made  him- 
self master  of  Gaul,  and  that  Galba,  the  most 
powerful  general  in  the  Roman  army,  had 
joined  the  insurrection  with  all  the  legions 
under  his  command,  and  that  he  was  now  ad- 
vancing toward  Rome  at  the  head  of  his 
armies  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  deposing 
Jfero,  and  making  himself  emperor  in  his 
stead. 

Nero  was  at  first  absolutely  stupefied  at 
hearing  these  tidings.  He  remained  for  some 
time  silent  and  motionless,  as  if  made  com- 
pletely senseless  with  consternation.  When 
at  length  he  came  to  himself  again,  he  fell 
into  a  perfect  frenzy  of  rage  and  terror.  He 
overturned  the  supper  table,  tore  his  garments, 
threw  down  two  valuable  cups  to  the  floor  and 
broke  them  to  pieces,  and  then  began  to  dash 
his  head  against  the  wall,  as  if  he  were  per- 
fectly insane.  He  said  he  was  undone.  No 
man  had  ever  been  so  wretched.  His  domin- 
TT 


306  Neeo.  [A.D.  67. 

His  plans  for  vengeance.  He  is  restrained. 

ions  were  to  be  seized  from  him  while  he  yet 
lived,  and  held  by  an  usm'per ;  he  was  utterly 
ruined  and  undone. 

After  a  little  time  had  elapsed  the  agita- 
tion and  excitement  of  his  mind  took  another 
direction,  that  of  furious  anger  against  the 
generals  and  officers  of  his  army, — not  only 
those  who  had  actually  rebelled,  but  all  others, 
for  he  was  jealous  and  suspicious  of  all,  and 
said  that  he  believed  that  the  whole  army  was 
engaged  in  the  conspiracy.  He  was  going  to 
send  out  orders  to  the  various  provinces  and 
encampments,  for  the  assassination  of  great 
numbers  of  the  officers, — such  as  he  iniagined 
might  be  inclined  to  turn  against  him, — and 
he  would  probably  have  done  so  if  he  had  not 
been  restrained  by  the  influence  of  his  minis- 
ters of  state.  He  also  proposed  to  seize  and 
kill  all  tlie  Gauls  then  in  Rome,  as  a  mode  of 
taking  vengeance  on  their  countrymen  fdr 
joining  Yindex  in  his  rebellion,  and  could 
scarcely  be  prevented  from  doing  this  by  the 
urgent  remonstrances  of  all  his  friends. 

After  a  time  Nero  so  far  recovered  his  self- 
possession  that  he  began  to  make  preparations 
for  organizing  an  army,  with  the  design  of 
marching  against  the  rebels.   He  accordingly 


A.D.  67.]  Neko's  End.  307 


He  attempts  to  raise  an  army. 


ordered  troops  to  be  enlisted  and  arms  and 
ammunition  to  be  provided, — assessing  at  the 
same  time  heavy  taxes  wpon  the  people  of 
Rome  to  defray  the  expense.  All  these 
arrangements,  however,  only  increased  the 
general  discontent.  The  people  saw  that  the 
preparations  which  the  emperor  was  making 
were  wholly  inadequate  to  the  crisis,  and  that 
no  efficient  military  oj)erations  could  ever 
come  from  them.  In  the  first  place,  he  could 
obtain  no  troops,  for  no  men  fit  for  soldiers 
were  willing  to  enlist, — and  so  he  undertook 
to  supply  the  deficiency  by  requiring  every 
master  of  slaves  to  send  him  a  certain  number 
of  his  bondmen,  and  these  bondmen  he  freed 
and  then  enrolled  them  in  his  army,  in  lieu 
of  soldiers.  Moreover,  in  making  provision 
for  the  wants  of  his  army,  instead  of  devoting 
his  chief  attention  to  securing  a  sufiiciency  of 
arms,  ammunition,  military  stores,  and  other 
such  supplies  as  were  required  in  prej^aring 
for  an  efficient  campaign,  he  seemed  only  in- 
terested in  getting  together  actors,  dancers, 
musical  instruments,  and  dresses  for  perform- 
ers on  the  public  stage.  In  excuse  for  this 
course  of  procedui'e,  Nero  said  frankly  that 
he  did  not  expect  that  his  expedition  would 


308  Nero.  [A.D.  67. 

Nero's  hopeless  coudition.  His  plans  for  escape. 

lead  to  any  important  military  operations.  As 
soon  as  he  reached  the  rebel  armies  his  inten- 
tion was,  he  said,  to  throw  himself  upon  their 
sense  of  justice  and  their  loyalty.  He  would 
acknowledge  whatever  had  been  wrong  in  his 
past  government,  and  promise  solemnly  that 
his  sway  in  future  should  be  more  mild  and 
beneficent ;  and  he  had  no  doubt  that  thus 
the  whole  disturbance  would  be  quelled.  The 
revolted  troops  would  at  once  return  to  their 
duty,  and  the  musical  and  theatrical  prepa- 
rations which  he  was  making  were  intended 
for  a  series  of  grand  festivities  to  celebrate 
the  reconciliation. 

Of  course  such  insane  and  hopeless  folly  as 
this  awakened  a  sentiment  of  universal  con- 
tempt and  indignation  among  the  people  of 
Rome.  The  greatest  excitement  and  confu- 
sion prevailed  throughout  the  city ;  and,  as  is 
usual  in  times  of  public  panic,  money  and 
provisions  were  hid  away  by  those  who  pos* 
sessed  them,  in  secret  hoards  ;  and  this  soon 
occasioned  a  great  scarcity  of  food.  The  city, 
in  fact,  was  threatened  with  famine.  In  the 
midst  of  the  alarm  and  anxiety  which  this 
state  of  things  occasioned,  two  ships  arrived 
from  Egypt,  at  Ostia,  and  the  news  produced 


A.D.  67.]  Nero's  End.  309 

The  arrival  of  the  cargoes  of  sand  from  Egypt. 

a  general  rejoicing, — it  being  supposed,  of 
course,  that  the  ships  were  laden  with  corn. 
It  proved,  however,  that  there  was  no  corn  on 
board.  Instead  of  food  for  the  metropolis, 
the  cargo  consisted  of  sand^  intended  to  form 
the  arena  of  some  of  the  emperor's  amphi- 
theaters, for  the  gladiators  and  wrestlers  to 
stand  upon,  in  contending.  This  incident 
seemed  to  fill  the  cup  of  public  indignation 
to  the  brim ;  and,  as  news  arrived  just  at  this 
time  that  the  rebellion  had  extended  into 
Germany,  and  that  all  the  legions  in  the 
German  provinces  had  gone  over  to  Galba, 
Nero's  power  began  to  be  considered  at  an 
end.  Tumults  prevailed  everywhere  through- 
out the  city,  and  assemblies  were  held,  threat- 
ening open  defiance  to  the  authority  of  the 
emperor,  and  declaring  the  readiness  of  the 
people  to  acknowledge  Galba  so  soon  as  he 
should  arrive. 

Nero  was  now  more  terrified  than  ever, 
lie  knew  not  what  to  do.  lie  fled  from  his 
palace,  and  sought  a  retreat  in  certain  gar- 
dens near — acting  in  this,  however,  under  the 
influence  of  a  blind  and  instinctive  fear,  rath- 
er than  from  any  rational  hope  of  securing 
his  safety  by  seeking  such  a  place  of  refuge. 


310  Neko.  [A.D.  67. 

Nero  proposes  to  fly  from  Egypt.  His  distraction  and  terror. 

Ill  fact,  he  was  now  perfectly  distracted  with 
terror.  He  procured  some  poison  before  he 
left  his  palace,  and  carried  it  in  a  small  golden 
box  with  him  to  the  gardens  ;  but  he  had  not 
strength  or  resolution  to  take  it.  He  then 
conceived  of  the  plan  of  flying  from  Rome 
altogether.  He  would  go  at  once  to  Ostia, 
he  said,  and  there  embark  on  board  a  ship 
and  sail  for  Egypt,  where,  it  might  be  sup- 
posed, he  would  be  out  of  the  reach  of  his 
enemies.  He  asked  his  officers  and  attend- 
ants if  they  would  accompany  him  in  this 
flight.     But  they  refused  to  go. 

Then  he  began  to  talk  of  another  plan.  He 
w^ould  go  and  meetGalba  as  a  suppliant,  and, 
falling  upon  his  knees  before  the  conqueror, 
would  implore  him  to  spare  his  life.  Or  he 
would  go  into  the  Roman  Forum,  and  make 
a  humble  and  supplicatory  address  to  the 
people  there,  imploring  their  forgiveness  for 
his  cruelties  and  crimes,  and  solemnly  prom- 
ising never  to  be  guilty  of  such  excesses 
again,  if  they  would  pardon  and  protect  him. 
The  by-standers  told  him  that  such  a  proceed- 
ing was  wholly  out  of  the  question  ;  for  if  he 
were  to  go  forth  for  such  a  purpose  from  his 
retreat,  the  people  were  in  such  a  frenzy  of 


A.D.  67.]  J^ERo's  End.  311 

Ho  sinks  into  hopeless  despair.  Tho  night. 

excitement  against  him,  tliat  they  would  tear 
him  to  pieces  before  he  could  reach  tlie  Eos- 
tra.  In  a  word,  the  distracted  thoughts  of 
the  wretched  criminal  turned  this  wa}^  and 
that,  in  the  wild  agitation  with  which  re- 
morse and  terror  filled  his  mind,  vainly  seek- 
ing some  way  of  escajje  from  the  awful 
dangers  which  were  circling  and  narrowing 
so  rapidly  around  him.  There  was,  in  fact, 
no  hope  now  left  for  him — no  refuge,  no 
protection,  no  possibility  of  escape  ;  and  so, 
after  suddenly  seizing,  and  as  suddenly  aban- 
doning, one  impracticable  scheme  after  an- 
other, his  mind  became  whollj^  bewildered, 
and  he  sank  down,  at  length,  into  a  condition 
of  blank  and  hopeless  despair. 

Although  the  insurrection  had  become  very 
general  in  the  provinces,  the  troops  in  the 
city,  consisting  chiefly  of  the  emperor's 
guards,  yet  remained  faithful ;  and  now  as 
the  night  was  coming  on,  they  were  stationed 
as  usual  at  their  respective  posts  in  various 
parts  of  the  city  and  at  tlie  palace  gates. 
Kero  retired  to  rest.  lie  found,  however,  that 
he  could  not  sleep.  At  midnight  he  rose, 
and  came  forth  from  his  apartment.  He  was 
surprised  to  find  that  there  was  no  sentinel  at 


312  Neko.  ■      [A.D.  67. 

He  18  deserted  by  his  guards.  He  calls  for  a  gladiator. 

the  door.  On  farther  examination  he  found 
to  his  amazement  that  the  palace  guards  had 
been  wholly  withdrawn.  He  was  thunder- 
struck at  making  this  discovery.  He  re- 
turned into  the  palace  and  aroused  some  of 
the  domestics,  and  then  went  forth  with  them 
to  the  residences  of  some  of  his  chief  minis- 
ters, who  resided  near,  to  ask  for  help.  He 
could,  however,  nowhere  gain  admission.  He 
found  the  houses  all  closely  shut  up,  and  by 
all  his  knocking  at  the  doors  he  could  get  no 
answer  from  any  persons  within.  He  then 
came  back  in  great  distress  and  alarm  to  his 
own  apartment.  He  found  that  it  had  been 
broken  into  during  the  short  time  that  he  had 
been  gone,  and  rifled  of  every  thing  valuable 
that  it  contained.  Even  his  golden  box  of 
poison  had  been  carried  away.  In  a  word  the 
great  sovereign  of  half  the  world  found  that 
he  had  been  abandoned  by  all  his  adherents, 
and  left  in  a  condition  of  utter  and  absolute 
exposure.  The  guards  had  concluded  to  de- 
clare for  Galba,  and  had  accordingly  gone 
away,  leaving  the  fallen  tyrant  to  his  fate. 

Nero  called  desperately  to  his  servants  to 
send  for  a  gladiator  to  thrust  him  through 
with  a  sword,  but  no  one  would  go.    "  Alas !" 


A.D.  67.]  Neeo's  End.  313 


Phaon  proposes  a  place  of  retreat. 


he  exclaimed,  "has  it  come  to  this  ?  Am  I 
so  utterly  abandoned  that  I  have  not  even 
enemies  left  who  are  willing  to  kill  me  ?" 

After  a  little  time  he  began  to  be  a  little 
more  composed,  and  expressed  a  wish  that  he 
knew  of  some  place  in  the  environs  of  the  city 
where  he  could  go  and  conceal  himself  for  a 
little  time  until  he  could  determine  what  to 
do.  One  of  the  servants  of  his  household 
named  Phaon,  told  him  that  he  had  a  country- 
house  near  the  city,  where,  perhaps,  Nero 
might  hide.  Nero  immediately  resolved  to 
go  there.  The  better  to  conceal  his  flight  he 
disguised  himself  in  mean  apparel,  and  tied 
a  handkerchief  about  his  face ;  and  then 
mounting  on  horseback  in  company  with  two 
or  three  attendants,  he  proceeded  out  of  the 
city.  As  he  went,  it  thundered  and  lightened 
from  time  to  time,  and  Nero  was  greatly  ter 
rifled.  He  supposed  that  the  commotion  of 
the  elements  was  occasioned  by  the  spirits  of 
those  whom  he  had  murdered  coming  now  to 
persecute  and  torment  him  in  the  hour  of  his 
extremity. 

He  passed,  during  his  ride,  a  station  of  the 
guard  which  happened  to  be  on  his  way,  and 
heard  the  soldiers  cursing  him  as  he  went  by, 


314  Nero.  [A.D.  07. 

Nero's  flight  from  the  city.  Incidents. 

and  expressing  joy  at  his  downfall.  Soon  after 
this  he  overheard  a  passenger  whom  his  party 
met  on  the  road,  say  to  his  companion,  when 
he  saw  Nero  and  his  attendants  riding  by, 
"These  men  no  donbt  are  going  in  pursuit  of 
the  emperor."  Another  man  whom  they  met 
on  the  waj'-  stopped  them  to  ask  what  news 
there  was  in  town  about  the  emperor.  In 
these  occurrences,  though  they  of  course 
tended  to  increase  the  agitation  and  excite- 
ment of  Nero's  mind,  there  was  nothing  par- 
ticularly alarming  ;  but  at  length  an  incident 
happened  which  frightened  the  fugitive  ex- 
tremely. He  was  passing  a  place  where  a 
carcass  lay  by  the  side  of  the  road.  Some 
soldiers  of  the  guard  were  standing  near. 
The  horse  that  Nero  rode  was  startled  at  the 
sight  of  the  carcass,  and  springing  suddenly 
shook  down  the  handkerchief  from  Nero's 
face.  One  of  the  soldiers  by  this  means  ob- 
tained a  view  of  his  countenance,  and  ex- 
claimed that  that  was  the  emperor.  Nero 
was  so  much  alarmed  at  this  that  he  hastened 
on,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  out  of  the  view  of 
tlie  men  who  had  seen  him,  he  leaped  from 
his  horse,  and  calling  upon  his  attendants  to 
dismount    too    and  follow  him,  he  ran   inti* 


A.D.  or.]  Nero's  End.  315 

He  refuses  to  be  buried  before  he  is  dead. 

an  adjoining  thicket,  among  bushes  and  bri- 
ers, and  thence  the  whole  party  made  their 
way  circuitously  round  to  the  rear  of  Phaon's 
grounds.  Here  they  stopped  and  hid  them- 
selves till  they  could  contrive  some  way  to 
get  through  or  over  the  wall. 

There  was  a  pit  near  by,  which  had  been 
made  by  digging  for  sand.  Phaon  j)roposed 
that  Nero  should  hide  in  this  pit  until  an 
opening  could  be  made  in  the  wall.  Bnt 
Nero  refused  to  do  this,  saying  that  he  would 
not  be  buried  before  he  was  dead.  So  he  re- 
mained hid  in  the  thickets  while  Phaon  went 
to  work  to  make  an  opening  in  the  wall. 

The  wall  was  not  of  a  veiy  substantial 
character ;  if  it  had  been,  it  would  not  have 
been  possible  for  Phaon,  with  the  means  at 
his  command,  to  have  effected  a  passage. 
As  it  was,  he  succeeded,  though  with  diffi- 
culty, in  loosening  some  of  the  stones,  so  as 
g]-adually  to  make  an  opening. 

Nero  was  engaged,  while  this  work  was  going 
on,  in  pulling  the  briers  out  of  his  clothes  and 
flesh,  and  being  thirsty,  he  went  down  to  a 
ditch  that  was  near,  and  drank,  taking  up 
the  water  in  his  hands.     As  he  drank,  he 


316 


lie  gets  through  the  wall. 


Nero. 


[A.D.  67. 


He  is  cont':aled. 


Phaon  at  the  Wall. 


groaned  out,  "  Oh,  can  it  be  that  I  have  come 
to  this !" 

In  the  mean  time,  Phaon  went  on  with  his 
work,  and  soon  succeeded  in  making  a  hole 
in  the  wall  sufficient  for  his  purpose,  and  then 
the  men  dragged  Nero  through.  They  brought 
him  into  the  house,  and  shut  him  up  in  a  small 
and  secret  apartment  there. 

Nero  now  felt  relieved  from  the  extreme  ter- 
ror which  he  had  suffered  during  his  flight; 


A.D.  67.]  Nero's  End.  317 

Phaon  counsels  Nero  to  kill  himself. 

but  the  feelings  of  terror  subsided  in  his  mind, 
only  to  give  place  to  the  still  more  dreadful 
pangs  of  remorse  and  horror.     He  moaned 
continually  in  his  anguish,  and  incessantly 
repeated  the  words,  "  My  father,  my  mother, 
and  my  wife  doom  me  to  destruction."     These 
were  indeed  the  words  of  one  of  the  tragedies 
which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  act  upon 
the  stage,  but  they  expressed  the  remorse  and 
anguish  of  his  mind  so  truly,  that  they  recur- 
red continually  to  his  lips.     Phaon  and  the 
men  who  had  brought  him  to  the  house,  find- 
ing it  impossible  to  calm  him,  and  seeing  no 
hope  of  his  final  escape  from  death,  and  per- 
haps, moreover,  wishing  to  relieve  themselves 
of  what  was  now  fast  becoming  a  serious  bur- 
then to  them,  recommended  to  him  to  kill 
himself, — and  thus,  as   they  said,  since   he 
must  die,   die  like  a  man.      Finally,  JSTero^ 
seemed  to  yield  to  their  urgings.     He  said  / 
that  he  would  kill  himself  as  they  desired. '. 
They  might  go  out  and  dig  a  grave  for  him,; 
and  prepare  wood  and  water  for  washing  the ; 
body.     While  giving  these  orders  he  moaned  ' 
and  groaned  continually,  as  if  in  a  state  of 
delirium.  | 

In  the  mean  time  the  morning  had  come^' 


S18  ITero.  [A.D.  67. 

Nero  is  condemned  by  the  Senate.  The  daggers. 

and  at  Rome  all  was  excitement  and  commo- 
tion. The  Senate  came  together  and  pro- 
claimed Galba  emperor.  They  also  passed  a 
decree  pronouncing  Nero  an  enemy  to  the 
state,  and  sentencing  him  to  be  j^unished  as 
such  in  the  ancient  manner,  "When  this  news 
transpired,  a  friend  of  Phaon  wrote  a  letter  to 
him,  giving  an  account  of  what  the  Senate  had 
done,  and  sent  it  off  with  the  utmost  haste  by 
a  trusty  messenger.  The  messenger  arrived 
at  Phaon's  house,  and  brought  the  letter  in. 
Nero  seized  it  from  Phaon's  hands,  and  read 
it.  "  What  is  the  ancient  manner  ?"  he  asked, 
in  a  tone  of  great  anxiety  and  terror.  They 
told  him  that  it  was  to  be  stripped  naked,  and 
then  to  be  secured  by  having  his  head  fastened 
in  a  pillory,  and  in  tliat  position  to  be  M'hipped 
to  death.  At  hearing  this,  Nero  broke  forth 
in  fresh  groans  and  lamentations.  He  could 
not  endure  such  a  death  as  that,  he  said,  and 
he  would  kill  himself,  therefore,  at  once,  if 
they  would  give  him  a  dagger. 

There  were  daggers  at  hand.  Nero  took 
them,  examined  the  points  of  them  v/ith  a 
trembling  touch,  seemed  undecided,  and 
finally  put  them  away  again,  saying  that  his 
hour  was  not  yet  quite  come.     Presently  he 


A.D.  67.]  Kero's  Ekd.  319 

Armed  men  come  to  urrest  Nero  at  Phaon's  house. 

took  one  of  the  daggers  again,  and  made  a 
new  attemj)t  to  awaken  in  himself  sufficient 
resolution  to  strike  the  blow,  but  his  courage 
failed  him.  He  moaned  and  raved  all  this 
time  in  the  most  incoherent  and  distracted 
manner.  He  even  begged  that  one  of  the 
attendants  who  were  with  him  would  take  the 
dagger  and  kill  himself  first,  in  order  to  en- 
courage IS'ero  by  letting  him  see  that  it  was 
not  after  all  so  dreadful  a  thing  to  die.  But 
no  one  of  the  attendants  seemed  sufficiently 
devoted  to  his  master  to  be  willing  to  render 
him  such  a  service  as  this. 

In  the  midst  of  this  perplexity  and  delay  a 
noise  was  heard  as  of  horsemen  riding  up  to 
the  door.  Nero  was  terrified  anew  at  the 
sound.  They  were  coming,  he  said,  to  seize 
him.  He  immediately  drew  one  of  the  dag- 
gers, and  putting  it  to  his  throat,  attempt- 
ed desj)e.rately  to  nerve  himself  to  tlie  work 
of  driving  it  home.  But  he  could  not  do  it. 
The  noise  at  the  door  in  the  mean  time  in- 
creased. Nero  then  gave  the  dagger  to  one 
of  the  men  standing  by,  and  begged  that  he 
would  kill  him.  The  man  took  the  dagger 
with  great  reluctance,  but  presently  gave  the 


320  Neeo.  [A.D.  67. 

The  soldiers  altempt  to  save  Nero.  He  dies. 

fatal   stab,   and   Nero  sank  down   upon  the 
ground  mortally  wounded. 

At  this  moment  the  door  was  suddenly 
opened,  and  the  soldiers  that  had  just  arrived 
came  in.  They  had  been  sent  by  the  Senate 
to  search  for  the  fugitive  and  bring  him  back 
to  Rome.  The  centurion  who  commanded 
these  men,  advanced  into  the  room,  and 
looked  at  the  fallen  emperor,  as  he  lay  upon 
the  floor,  weltering  in  his  blood.  He  had 
been  commanded  to  bring  the  prisoner  to  the 
city,  if  possible,  alive ;  and  he  accordingly 
ordered  the  soldiers  to  come  to  the  dying  man 
and  endeavor  to  stanch  his  wounds  and  save 
him.  But  it  was  too  late.  Nero  stared  at 
them  as  they  advanced  to  take  hold  of  him, 
with  a  wild  and  frightful  expression  of  coun- 
tenance, which  shocked  all  who  saw  him,  and 
in  the  midst  of  this  agony  of  terror,  he  sank 
down  and  died. 

The  news  of  the  tyrant's  death  spread  with 
the  utmost  rapidity  in  all  directions.  A 
courier  immediately  set  off  for  the  north  to 
carry  tidings  of  the  event  <"o  Galba.  People 
flocked  from  all  quarters  to  the  house  of 
Phaon  to  gaze  on  the  lifeless  body,  and  to  ex- 
ult in  the  monster's  death.     The  people  of  the 


T 


A.D.  67.]  Neko's  End.  321 

Galba'g  march  to  Rom».  BcTentT-thrve. 

citj  gave  themselves  up  to  the  wildest  and 
most  extravagant  joy.  They  put  on  caps  such 
as  were  worn  by  manumitted  slaves  when 
first  obtaining  their  freedom,  and  roamed 
about  the  city  expressing  in  every  possible 
way  the  exultation  they  felt  at  their  deliver- 
ance, and  breaking  down  and  destroying  the 
statues  of  !Nero  wherever  they  could  find 
them. 

,Li  the  mean  time  Galba  was  steadily  ad- 
vancing on  the  way  to  Rome.  In  due  tim'e 
he  made  his  entry  into  the  city,  and  embas- 
sadors came  to  him  there  from  all  parts  of  the 
Roman  world  to  acknowledge  him  as  the 
reigning  emperor.  At  this  time  he  was 
seventy -three  years  old.  So  that  the  number 
seventy-three  of  which  the  oracle  had  warned 
Nero  to  beware,  denoted  the  age  of  his  rival 
and  enemy, — ^not  his  own. 


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